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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a League Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their head coach.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "If anyone informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the next day I'm no longer the coach anymore."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's strategy to cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his strongest lineup for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight tie ended in a 3-2 defeat 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 strategy for revenge against the current Premier League leaders in a match that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

The Cost of Achievement and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has brought the demands of European football for the first time. These demands are taking a toll on several exhausted players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach deployed an entirely different lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his first-choice side, which looked extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Selection Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The manager must balance his ambition to win a another major trophy with considerable practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained 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 cup match but was compelled to introduce his "key players" 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 potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten streak against Palace, including seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to begin for the first time since that injury. Arteta revealed 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 fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule ramps up.