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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in command. 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. Conversely, Glasner selected his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for payback against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

A Cost of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the demands of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on some fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely had a break all season.

The manager deployed an entirely different team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to pick the majority of his preferred team, which appeared decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.