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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could focus on other competitions was swiftly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a marked contrast in Glasner's approach to cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his first-choice side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for revenge versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

A Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the rigors of European football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with some exhausted players, many of whom have hardly had a rest all term.

The manager fielded an completely different side, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

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

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to bring on his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game unbeaten streak against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in the previous campaign'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 time since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

With important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday period intensifies.