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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was firmly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," stated Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his strongest team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a strategy for revenge versus the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of 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 maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the rigors of continental football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with some weary players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all season.

The coach selected an completely different side, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup match but was compelled to introduce his "big-hitters" following the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning streak against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored 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 begin for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The period until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be prepared."

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