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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a quiet period with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, rather than preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace might focus on other competitions was swiftly rejected by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one defeat to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm not the coach any more."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's strategy to cup competitions relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his first full season in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been knocked out from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his first-choice lineup for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final match ended in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at the interval. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to devise a strategy for revenge against the present Premier League pace-setters in a match that was moved to this week owing to European commitments.

A Cost of Success and European Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently brought the demands of European football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several weary players, many of whom have hardly had a break all term.

The coach selected an entirely changed team, including four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he admitted he will have "no option" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice side, which looked extremely lethargic as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he stated.

Arsenal's Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must juggle his ambition to win a another 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 damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League 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 move that left Glasner "furious" over a possible offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal are on an eight-game winning run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, looks set to begin for the first since that injury. Arteta disclosed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're used to it," said Arteta on the busy schedule. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a wonderful chance to go into the semi-final of a tournament so we will be ready."

Amid important players returning from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal pose a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the festive period intensifies.