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You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a restful few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's twenty-ninth match of the season—a Carabao Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. However, the idea that Palace might focus on other tournaments was swiftly rejected by their boss.

"No, I do not believe that," stated Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There exists a clear contrast in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's run 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 by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner fielded his strongest lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight match concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, following a rather debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for payback against the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European commitments.

A Cost of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a sense, been a victim of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has brought the challenges of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several fatigued squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a break all term.

The manager deployed an completely changed team, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked extremely lethargic as they unusually conceded four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are different. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. Last year, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback significantly harmed their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce his "big-hitters" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-match winning run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. 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, looks set to begin for the first time since that setback. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "In my view this week was the sole full week we had to prepare. The period until February at least is going to be like this. We have a beautiful chance to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be prepared."

Amid important players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule intensifies.