Kovac, who succeeded the retired Jupp Heynckes, surprisingly put Germany international Mats Hummels on the bench and partnered Jerome Boateng with Niklas Suele in central defence.
Bayern Munich set up a mouth-watering German Cup final with Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund after beating Borussia Moenchengladbach on penalties on Wednesday to keep their treble chances on track.
Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez has denied he refused to play in Tuesday's Champions League Group A match against Bayern Munich, media reports said on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich left more than 50 million eurosworth of new signings on the bench, yet still managed to destroy shoddy VfB Stuttgart 6-1 in an embarrassingly one-sided Bundesliga contest on Sunday.
Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes will sit on the coaching bench for a Bundesliga game for the last time when the champions meet his former club Borussia Moenchengladbach in the season finale on Saturday, and hinted on Monday that he might retire.
Poland and Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski hailed Barcelona coach Xavi as the main reason for his move to the La Liga club.
Bayern Munich crushed hosts Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 with a superb display of attacking football on Wednesday to advance to the German Cup quarter-finals.
The Polish forward scored 15 goals on the way to Bayern Munich's sixth Champions League title, hitting the target in every match before the final except a group game against Tottenham Hotspur when he was rested.
Bayern Munich extended their lead at the top of the Bundesliga to two points despite drawing 1-1 at Bayer Leverkusen on Saturday, keeping their dreams of winning a treble on track.
Sane joined City from Schalke 04 in 2016 and had 39 goals and 45 assists in 135 appearances in all competitions. He was an integral part of their league title winning squads in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
First-choice strikers Roy Makaay and Claudio Pizarro are in line to return from injury as Bayern attempt to overturn their 4-2 defeat from the first leg.
Schalke 04 beat rivals Borussia Dortmund 2-1 in the Bundesliga Ruhr valley derby on Saturday to confirm their improving form after a bad start to the season.
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Two goals from Luis Diaz and one from Mohamed Salah helped Liverpool stroll to a 3-0 victory at Manchester United.
Bayern Munich forward Robert Lewandowski has extended his contract with the German champions by two years to 2021, the club said on Tuesday. Lewandowski joined Bayern in 2014 from Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund and was the league's top scorer in the 2015-16 season. The Poland forward also heads his club's scoring list this season with 11 Bundesliga goals, four behind league leading Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Dortmund.
Bayer Leverkusen dumped Bayern Munich out of the German Cup with a 4-2 victory over the holders in Wednesday's quarter-final. Leverkusen were joined on Wednesday by Werder Bremen, who ousted VfL Wolfsburg 5-2, and Hamburg after they beat second division Wehen Wiesbaden 2-1.
Bayern Munich's perfect Bundesliga start came to a screeching halt when they drew 1-1 with visiting Cologne on Saturday after winning their first five matches of the season.
Bayern Munich eased into the German Cup semi-finals with a 3-0 victory over 10-man VfL Bochum on Wednesday with Robert Lewandowski scoring twice to keep their treble hopes on track.
Premier League leaders Manchester City face a tricky match at Napoli but they would also advance to the next stage with victory in southern Italy.
The following is the draw for the Champions League last 16 which was held in Nyon on Monday:
The All India Football Federation on Monday gave the green signal for the May 27 exhibition tie between Mohun Bagan and German giants Bayern Munich in Kolkata, but refused to release the Bagan players called for national duty.
Bayern Munich, facing an early Champions League exit, revived their chances of reaching the last 16 on Wednesday as they beat Maccabi Haifa 1-0 and rivals Juventus lost at Girondins Bordeaux. AC Milan missed a chance to qualify when they were held 1-1 at home by Olympique Marseille and Real Madrid produced an uninspiring 1-0 win over Swiss champions FC Zurich in the same group.
Teenager Joel Matip made a dream Bundesliga debut on Saturday, heading in Schalke 04's equaliser to help his team draw 1-1 at Bayern Munich and remain in fourth spot, four points off the pace.
Hamburg SV beat Bayern Munich 1-0 with a second-half goal from Mladen Petric to cling on to the Bundesliga leadership on Saturday.
Barcelona eased into the Champions League semi-finals with a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich on Tuesday which completed a crushing 5-1 aggregate victory. They will next play Chelsea who drew 4-4 with Premier League rivals Liverpool to progress 7-5 on aggregate.
Title holders Bayern Munich eased into the second round of the German Cup with a comfortable 4-0 win over amateurs Germania Windeck on Monday, with striker Miroslav Klose scoring once and setting up another goal.
A selection of statistics surrounding Bayern Munich's 4-0 victory over Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday.
Last season's Bundesliga top scorer Robert Lewandowski scored his first competitive goal for new club Bayern Munich but the champions had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Schalke 04 on Saturday.
Bayern Munich defeated Kaiserslautern 3-1 in the German Cup final for their fourth domestic league and cup double.
Belarussian side BATE Borisov caused one of the biggest shocks ever seen in the Champions League when they stunned last season's beaten finalists Bayern Munich 3-1 on Tuesday.
Barcelona flirted with a shock Champions League exit before moving into the semi-finals with an away-goals victory over Paris St Germain while Bayern Munich completed a comfortable aggregate win over Juventus on Wednesday.
The Bavarians advanced to the German Cup last four after eliminating holders Dortmund, who had also won back-to-back league titles in 2011 and 2012, with a sparkling performance.
Images from the Champions League matches played between Bayern Munich and Barcelona in Munich on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich should be able to field their first-choice strike partnership for Tuesday's Champions League clash with Chelsea.
Bayern Munich were held to a 2-2 draw by Aberdeen, while Atletico Madrid lost 1-0 at Bolton Wanderers in the UEFA Cup last 32 first-leg matches.
The game was heading for extra time when Dutch striker Roy Makaay raced into the box and past a defender to hit the winner seconds before the final whistle.
Bayern Munich won their 22nd Bundesliga title in record time on Saturday by beating Eintracht Frankfurt 1-0 to open up an unassailable 20-point lead with six games left in the season.
Bayern Munich hammered Sporting Lisbon 5-0 while Liverpool and Chelsea scored 1-0 victories over Real Madrid and Juventus respectively in the first leg of their last-16 ties.
Hertha Berlin returned to the top of the Bundesliga for the first time in more than two years after Andriy Voronin struck twice to give them a 2-1 home win over Bayern Munich on Saturday.
Bayern Munich climbed to the top of the Bundesliga on Saturday after an Arjen Robben goal 12 minutes from time secured a thrilling 3-2 win at Werder Bremen.
