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You could excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly rejected by their head coach.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we lose on purpose, the next day I'm not the coach any more."

There is a clear difference in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his strongest lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a strategy for payback against the current Premier League pace-setters in a match that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

A Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own achievements. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of European football for the first time. These pressures are catching up with some weary players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all term.

The manager deployed an entirely different lineup, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the bulk of his first-choice team, which appeared extremely lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Team Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "big-hitters" after 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 possible offside, with no VAR available—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run versus Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season'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 time since then 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 congested fixture list. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be similar. 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 advance, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.