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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet period with his family in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final with Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was quickly rejected by their boss.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There is a clear contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his first-choice team for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That previous last-eight tie concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for payback versus the current Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week because of European obligations.

A Price of Success and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the challenges of European football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on some fatigued players, many of whom have barely had a break all season.

The coach deployed an completely different team, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the majority of his first-choice side, which looked decidedly lethargic as they unusually 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 situation are distinct. The boss must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had made several 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 assist Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will repeat again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game unbeaten run against Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to begin for the first since that setback. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the sole complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be like this. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be prepared."

With important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a daunting challenge for a Crystal Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the holiday schedule ramps up.