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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his best side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a plan for payback versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the rigors of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some exhausted players, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The coach fielded an entirely different lineup, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his first-choice side, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a hamstring 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 made several changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning run versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday period ramps up.