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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace could focus on other tournaments was quickly rejected by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we lose deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There exists a stark difference in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his first-choice lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Now, Glasner must figure out a plan for revenge against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

The Cost of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of European football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several exhausted squad members, many of whom have hardly had a rest all season.

The coach selected an entirely changed side, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League fixture. However, for the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his preferred side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection 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. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup match but was compelled to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning streak versus Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the congested schedule. "I think this week was the only full week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

Amid key players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the holiday period ramps up.