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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could focus on other tournaments was swiftly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

A Cost of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of continental football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several weary players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The coach deployed an entirely different team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his preferred side, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is going to be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

With key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.