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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was quickly dismissed by their manager.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the manager anymore."

There exists a clear difference in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his first-choice team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Success and Continental Fatigue

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

The coach deployed an completely changed lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the majority of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that League Cup tie but was forced to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning run against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted 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 since then setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only full week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is will be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

With key players coming back from injury and a determination to advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.