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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could focus on other competitions was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm not the manager anymore."

There is a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup competitions versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for revenge against the present Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

The Price of Success and European Exhaustion

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

The coach fielded an entirely different lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his preferred side, which appeared decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning streak against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four 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 Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule ramps up.