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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was firmly rejected by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm not the coach anymore."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner picked his strongest lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a strategy for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Price 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 has brought the demands of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some weary players, many of whom have barely had a break all term.

The manager selected an entirely changed side, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his preferred side, which appeared extremely jaded as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Considerations

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup match but was forced to bring on his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten streak versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first time since that setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

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