Messi, Neymar, JMascherano, Alves and Bravo did NOT travel to Florence for Barça's fourth summer friendly!

Coaches like Luis Enrique are well aware that, the way things are set up, their job is to make sure their team peaks before Christmas and then again in the spring. What chance do they have of firing on all cylinders sooner when their biggest stars barely feature in pre-season?

Take Barcelona. With just over a week to go before the UEFA Super Cup, they are still unable to call on their players who went to the Copa América, who were all fundamental in last year's glorious campaign: Leo Messi, Neymar, Javier Mascherano, Dani Alves and Claudio Bravo.

None of the quintet will travel to Florence for Barça's fourth summer friendly. As such, Wednesday's Joan Gamper Trophy against Roma will be their only opportunity to get warmed up before plunging into competitive action. The Fiorentina fixture will therefore be a sort of transitional game before the season kicks off in earnest. The squad for the visit to the legendary Stadio Artemio Franchi is made up of players who have been training for more than two weeks, many of whom will look at the occasion as their last chance to stake their claim.

The match will also allow us to gauge how Barça are coming on after three patchy performances against Los Angeles Galaxy, Manchester United and Chelsea. Despite the absence of Messi and Neymar, Luis Suárez's sharpness and the last throes of Pedro's career at the club have kept the team afloat going forward. However, things have looked much shakier in defence.