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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could focus on other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

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

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his strongest side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

The Cost of Success and Continental Fatigue

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

The manager selected an completely changed lineup, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his preferred team, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that cup tie but was forced to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from 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 situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since then injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole full week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.