You could forgive Oliver Glasner for preferring to enjoy a quiet few days with his loved ones in Austria before Christmas, rather than gearing up for Crystal Palace's 29th fixture of the season—a League Cup quarter-final against Arsenal. However, the notion that Palace could prioritize other tournaments was firmly dismissed by their head coach.
"Absolutely not, I do not believe that," declared Glasner following his team's side's 4-1 hammering to Leeds. "Should somebody informs me that we are defeated on purpose, the following day I'm no longer the coach any more."
There is a marked difference in Glasner's strategy to domestic cup competitions compared to his forerunner, Roy Hodgson. This first was evident during Palace's journey to the Carabao Cup last eight in his first complete campaign in command. Under Hodgson, the team had already been eliminated from each of the Carabao Cup and the FA Cup by the time Glasner took over at Selhurst Park. Conversely, Glasner selected his best side for victories over Norwich, QPR, and Aston Villa, setting up a meeting with Arsenal.
That previous quarter-final match concluded in a three-two defeat at the Emirates Stadium, due to a somewhat debated hat-trick from Gabriel Jesus, despite Palace having led at half-time. Almost exactly twelve months later, Glasner now faces the task to figure out a plan for payback against the present Premier League pace-setters in a fixture that was moved to this week owing to European obligations.
Glasner has, in a way, been a victim of his own success. Guiding Palace to their maiden major trophy with a win in the FA Cup final subsequently ushered in the challenges of continental football for the very first time. These demands are catching up with several exhausted players, many of whom have hardly enjoyed a rest all term.
The coach selected an entirely changed lineup, featuring four youngsters, in their last Conference League fixture. However, ahead of the Arsenal game, he admitted he will have "little choice" but to pick the bulk of his first-choice team, which looked extremely jaded as they uncharacteristically let in four goals from set-pieces against Leeds. "Must. Yes, have to," he stated.
For Mikel Arteta and Arsenal, the circumstances are different. The manager must juggle his desire to win a another major trophy with considerable practicality. The previous season, a muscle injury to Bukayo Saka suffered in a league game against Palace just days after their Carabao Cup fightback greatly damaged their title hopes.
Arteta had made several changes for that League Cup match but was forced to introduce 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 possible offside, with no VAR in operation—a scenario that will be the case again on Tuesday.
Arsenal are on an eight-match winning run versus Palace, featuring seven victories. Gabriel Jesus, who scored a hat-trick in last season's League Cup meeting and two in a later league win before sustaining a serious knee injury, is expected to start for the first time since then injury. Arteta revealed the forward wrote a "touching" letter to his teammates about what football means to him.
"We are accustomed to it," said Arteta on the congested fixture list. "I think this week was the sole full week we had to prepare. The rest until February at least is will be like this. We have a beautiful opportunity to go into the last four of a competition so we will be ready."
Amid key players returning from injury and a desire to progress, Arsenal present a formidable test for a Palace side urgently in need of a spark as the holiday schedule ramps up.
