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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a restful few days with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash with Arsenal. However, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other competitions was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the coach any more."

There is a stark difference in Glasner's philosophy to cup competitions versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the League Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a meeting with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match concluded in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner must devise a strategy for revenge against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

The Price of Achievement and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the rigors of European football for the very first time. These pressures are catching up with several fatigued players, many of whom have barely had a break all season.

The coach selected an entirely changed side, featuring four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "no option" but to pick the majority of his first-choice team, which looked decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup match but was forced to bring on his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial 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 are on an eight-match unbeaten run against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since that injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

With key players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.