It has been a good offseason for FC Barcelona. Although they are still under a transfer ban placed on them by UEFA, they have managed to sign Sevilla's Aleix Vidal and Atletico Madrid's Arda Turan. Although both players can't play till January when the ban ends, they will provide depth for the squad later in the season. The summer tour allows them to train with their teammates and hope they can all gel into the squad as quickly as possible.
Barcelona has also been linked to the likes of Paul Pogba and the talk is that he will likely sign for them next summer. Barcelona has also done good business by selling/loaning some players out. Other than Xavi, Barcelona has moved Gerard Deulofeu to Everton, loaned Martin Montoya to Inter Milan and will likely move Alex Song, to West Ham and veteran Pedro to Manchester United.
There is also talk of reserve Adriano leaving for A.S Roma. This summer tour gives a lot of Barcelona's youth players some valuable playing time that they wouldn't normally get during the season. It also gives players like Luis Suarez head starts on the season ahead. But Barcelona will be missing a lot of their starting 11 when they play in the Rose Bowl. Messi, Neymar, Dani Alves, Javier Mascherano, and Claudio Bravo will all be excused from the tour.
It has been a great season for MLS Cup holders LA Galaxy as well. They are currently sitting second in the Western Conference standings and will looking to prove that they are a top MLS side against one of the best football clubs in the world. The Galaxy is in a tough position although they sit second in the table. They are one point behind the leaders FC Dallas but Dallas has two games in hand over LA. Not to mention the fact that table spots one through six are just separated by a mere three points.
The addition of Steven Gerrard has been a big one for the club as well. The former Liverpool captain has already scored for the MLS side and has shown that he still has some magic left in him. He has given LA some offensive quality that they have been missing with Gyasi Zardes out due to his participation in the 2015 Gold Cup. It would be reasonable to question that LA should rest most of their starters due to the fact that it is a friendly, but fixtures like this only come once a year.
It is fair to say that the quality will be kind of lopsided in the Rose Bowl on Tuesday. Barcelona, even with them missing five starters, is still a quality side. Look for Luis Enrique to test out his young players and give players like Munir, Sandro more playing time. Sergi Roberto will look to prove his worth in the midfield as Andres Iniesta gets older. It will be surprising if Suarez plays at all but if he does, the Galaxy backline will face a player they haven't faced before. Playing against Suarez will be a test for the Galaxy as to what world class players are about.