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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's strategy to cup tournaments versus his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his best team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several weary players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all term.

The manager fielded an entirely changed side, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his first-choice team, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "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 wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

With key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the holiday period intensifies.