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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful period with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth game of the campaign—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might prioritize other competitions was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There is a stark difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his best lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather 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 versus the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

A Cost of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with some fatigued players, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The coach selected an entirely changed lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

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

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "key players" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up 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 repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten streak versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first since that setback. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" 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 complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

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