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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If somebody tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's strategy to cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for payback versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of European football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several fatigued players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach fielded an completely different team, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "no option" but to choose the bulk of his preferred team, which appeared decidedly jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup match but was compelled to bring on his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule intensifies.