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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "Should anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There is a stark difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his best lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must devise a plan for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of European 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 coach fielded an completely changed team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the majority of his preferred team, which looked decidedly lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup tie but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be prepared."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule intensifies.