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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might prioritize other competitions was swiftly rejected by their manager.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in command. 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. In contrast, Glasner fielded his first-choice lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of European football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on some weary players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all season.

The coach fielded an completely different side, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his preferred side, which looked decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he stated.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against 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 forced to bring on his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule intensifies.