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One might excuse Oliver Glasner for preferring to spend a restful few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, instead of preparing for Crystal Palace's 29th game of the season—a Carabao Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. Yet, the suggestion that Palace might focus on other tournaments was quickly dismissed by their manager.

"Absolutely not, I don't think so," remarked Glasner after his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "If anyone tells me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the manager any more."

There is a marked difference in Glasner's approach to domestic cup tournaments versus his predecessor, Roy Hodgson. This first became clear during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals in his debut complete campaign in charge. Under Hodgson, the team had previously been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup when Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner fielded his first-choice side for wins over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.

That prior last-eight match concluded in a 3-2 defeat at the Emirates Stadium, thanks to a somewhat controversial hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having been ahead at half-time. Now, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a strategy for payback against the current Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was rescheduled to this week owing to European obligations.

The Price of Success and Continental Exhaustion

Glasner has, in a way, been a casualty of his own achievements. Leading Palace to their maiden major trophy with victory in the FA Cup final has ushered in the demands of continental football for the first time. These pressures are taking a toll on several weary squad members, many of whom have barely enjoyed a rest all season.

The manager selected an completely changed team, including four youngsters, in their last Conference League match. However, ahead of the Arsenal clash, he conceded he will have "little choice" but to select the majority of his preferred side, which appeared decidedly jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Have to. Yes, have to," he said.

The Gunners' Perspective and Team Considerations

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

Arteta had implemented several changes for that cup tie but was forced to bring on his "key players" following the break. Saka came off the bench to set up Jesus for a crucial goal in a move that left Glasner "furious" over a potential offside, with no VAR in operation—a situation that will be the case again on Tuesday.

Arsenal have an eight-game winning run versus Palace, featuring seven wins. Gabriel Jesus, who netted a hat-trick in the previous campaign's League Cup encounter and a brace in a later league win before sustaining a long-term 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 means to him.

"We are used to it," commented Arteta on the congested fixture list. "I think this week was the only complete week we had to prepare. The period 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 ready."

With important players coming back from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal pose a daunting test for a Crystal Palace side desperately in need of rejuvenation as the festive schedule ramps up.