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One might forgive Oliver Glasner for wishing to spend a quiet few days with his family in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the campaign—a League Cup last-eight clash against Arsenal. Yet, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their boss.

"No, I don't think so," remarked Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody tells me that we lose on purpose, the following day I'm not the manager any more."

There exists a stark contrast in Glasner's philosophy to domestic cup tournaments compared to his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This initially was evident during Palace's run to the League Cup last eight in his debut full season in command. Under Hodgson, the club had already been knocked out from both the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner assumed control at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner picked his first-choice side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, paving the way for a showdown with Arsenal.

That prior quarter-final tie ended in a three-two loss at the Emirates Stadium, due to a slightly controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at the interval. Now, Glasner now faces the task to devise a plan for payback versus the present Premier League leaders in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.

A Cost of Achievement and Continental Fatigue

Glasner has, in a sense, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their first major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the demands of European football for the very first time. These pressures are taking a toll on some fatigued squad members, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a break all term.

The manager fielded an entirely different team, featuring four teenagers, in their last Conference League match. Yet, for the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "no option" but to choose the majority of his first-choice team, which looked decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces versus Leeds. "Must. Yes, must," he said.

The Gunners' Viewpoint and Selection Dilemmas

For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must balance his ambition to win a second major trophy with extreme pragmatism. The previous season, a hamstring injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game versus Palace only days after their Carabao Cup comeback significantly damaged their title aspirations.

Arteta had made several changes for that cup tie but was compelled to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to assist Jesus for a decisive goal in a passage of play that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR available—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-match winning run against Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a subsequent league win before sustaining a long-term knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then setback. Arteta disclosed the forward wrote a "beautiful" letter to his teammates about what football signifies to him.

"We're accustomed to it," said Arteta on the busy fixture list. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to get ready. The rest until February at least is will be similar. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a tournament so we will be ready."

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