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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager anymore."

There is a stark difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for payback against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Price of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of continental football for the first time. These demands are catching up with some exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The coach selected an completely different side, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first since that injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive period ramps up.