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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his first-choice team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for revenge versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some weary players, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The manager deployed an completely changed team, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his preferred side, which looked extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin 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 used to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

With key players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive period intensifies.