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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for wishing to enjoy a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria ahead of Christmas, instead of gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th match of the campaign—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the idea that Palace might focus on other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," declared Glasner following his team's side's four-one hammering to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we are defeated deliberately, the next day I'm no longer the coach any more."

There exists a marked difference in Glasner's approach to cup tournaments relative to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially became clear during Palace's journey to the League Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the club had previously been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. In contrast, Glasner selected his strongest side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a encounter with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly controversial 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 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 victim of his own success. Guiding Palace to their first major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final has ushered in the rigors of European football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on some exhausted players, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The coach selected an entirely different side, including four youngsters, in their final Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to choose the majority of his first-choice side, which appeared extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically conceded four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Have to. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Team Considerations

On Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the situation are distinct. The boss must balance his desire to win a another major trophy with extreme pragmatism. Last year, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made a number of changes for that League Cup tie but was compelled to introduce his "key players" after the break. Saka came off the bench to assist 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 have an eight-game winning streak against Palace, including seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before suffering a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first since that injury. Arteta revealed the striker wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.

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

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to advance, Arsenal present a formidable challenge for a Palace side urgently in need of rejuvenation as the festive period intensifies.