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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth fixture of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was firmly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a clear difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must devise a plan for revenge versus the current 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 way, been a victim of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the rigors of continental football for the very first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all term.

The manager selected an completely different lineup, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his preferred team, which appeared decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Considerations

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

Arteta had made several changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match unbeaten run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "I think 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 opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid important players returning from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule ramps up.