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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might focus on other competitions was firmly rejected by their head coach.

"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one loss to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup last eight in his debut full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his first-choice side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous quarter-final tie ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a rather controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback against the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of European football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several exhausted squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all term.

The coach deployed an entirely changed team, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his preferred team, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

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 pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

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

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning streak against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup encounter and two in a later league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since then setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're used to it," commented Arteta on the congested 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 wonderful opportunity 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 present a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule intensifies.