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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other competitions was quickly rejected by their manager.

"No, I do not believe that," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 loss to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we lose deliberately, the next day I'm not the manager anymore."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions relative to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his best team for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match concluded in a 3-2 loss at the Emirates Stadium, following a slightly debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, even though Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner must figure out a strategy for revenge versus the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week because of European commitments.

A Price of Achievement and European Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the challenges of European football for the first time. These demands are catching up with some exhausted squad members, many of whom have barely had a break all season.

The manager deployed an completely different side, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to select the majority of his first-choice team, which appeared decidedly lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he affirmed.

Arsenal's Perspective and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are distinct. The boss must balance his desire to win a second major trophy with considerable pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka sustained in a league game against Palace only days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly harmed their title hopes.

Arteta had implemented a number of changes for that cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka was introduced from the bench to set up Jesus for a decisive goal in a move that left Glasner "incensed" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match unbeaten run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and a brace in a subsequent league win before suffering a long-term knee injury, looks set to begin for the first time since that injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We are used to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "In my view this week was the sole full week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is going to be similar. We have a wonderful opportunity to go into the semi-final of a competition so we will be ready."

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