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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful period with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might prioritize other tournaments was quickly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager anymore."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his strongest team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match ended in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for payback versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European commitments.

A Price of Success and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with some weary squad members, many of whom have barely had a rest all season.

The manager fielded an entirely changed side, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his preferred team, which looked decidedly jaded as they unusually let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The boss must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup tie but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten streak against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since that injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are accustomed to it," commented Arteta on the congested schedule. "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 beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a determination to progress, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule intensifies.