Klaus Toppmoller has already spoiled two English clubs' European aspirations this season. Against Manchester United this evening, and with Arsenal and Liverpool's scalps already pocketed, he aims to add a third.

"I know Sir Alex desperately wants to go back to Scotland for the final," the Bayer Leverkusen manager said last night. "But after our victory over Barcelona in the first group stage, another Glaswegian, the referee Hugh Dallas, said to me: 'I'll see you at Hampden.' I've clung on to that ever since. Maybe it's our destiny."

Few who witnessed Toppmoller's side dismiss Liverpool with such pizzazz in the quarter-finals could disagree. The 49-year-old may have won three caps as a player, but he has still sprung from relative obscurity this season to lead the ninth German club he has managed to the brink of a European Cup final.

Leverkusen boast a similar sized support to Southampton's, but they have also edged Juventus out of Europe this season.

"That should serve as a little warning," said the manager. "We are not easily beaten."

Not that the Germans are underestimating the scale of the task this evening. "Manchester United are on a different level to either Liverpool or Arsenal," Toppmoller said. "Arsenal have a very creative side while Liverpool are more defensive-minded, relying on counter-attacking. United incorporate both those aspects.

"When you look at Liverpool's Michael Owen and Emile Heskey they are very quick, but that's what Liverpool rely upon. They look to use their fast forwards for breakaways. United are far better technically. If you look at players like Giggs, Van Nistelrooy and Veron you can see how superior they are from a technical point of view."

All that is likely to prompt a cagey approach similar to the one which earned Leverkusen a 1-0 defeat at Anfield in the last round. In the second leg they hammered four past Jerzy Dudek: twice as many as the Merseysiders have conceded in their last 12 league games. "This is a chance for my players to test themselves," Toppmoller added, "measuring themselves against some of the best players in the world."

Yet his priority remains the Bundesliga. Leverkusen's inability to win the domestic title has seen them tagged as "losers" back home. Three times since 1997 they have choked and finished runners-up. On the most recent occasion, two years ago, Christophe Daum's team went into the last game, against what was perceived as a hopeless Unterhaching side, three points clear. Leverkusen lost, Bayern Munich won, and the title returned to Bavaria.

Werder Bremen's victory at the BayArena on Saturday conjured up nightmarish memories of that defeat, reducing Bayer's lead to two points over Borussia Dortmund. The acceptance that this will be the last season for Michael Ballack, who is to join Bayern in the summer for £10 million, Ze Roberto and Jens Nowotny has merely added to the tension.

"That is why the league is our priority," added Toppmoller, who took over last summer. "Winning the title would mean everything to this club. We are conscious that players like Michael Ballack, who has already achieved wonderful things this season, will be leaving and they will be missed.

"But we find ourselves with two games against United, in a domestic cup final [against Schalke next month] and top of the league back home, and who else can say they have all that to play for? We still have great expectations for this season; after all, it's not every day that you play at Old Trafford."