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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might focus on other competitions was firmly rejected by their manager.

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

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his best side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a plan for payback versus the current Premier League leaders in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European obligations.

A Price of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on several fatigued players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all term.

The manager deployed an entirely changed team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to start for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest 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 important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period ramps up.