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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could focus on other competitions was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should anyone informs me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner must figure out a plan for revenge versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Price of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several weary players, many of whom have barely had a rest all term.

The coach deployed an completely different side, including four teenagers, in their final Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must juggle his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled 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 "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning streak versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before sustaining 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're used to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "I think this week was the only full week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful chance to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive period intensifies.