The absence of Melbourne product Sione Tuipulotu and the return of veteran Owen Farrell are two of the changes to the British and Irish Lions squad to face the Wallabies in the second Test.

Tuipulotu, who started in the centres in Brisbane, has been left out of match-day 23 altogether, with Irishman Bundee Aki preferred at No.12, as the Lions try to wrap up the series in Melbourne on Saturday.

Tuipulotu, who grew up in Melbourne before shifting to Scotland where he captains the national side, reportedly has a hamstring injury.

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today

“It is kind of crazy,” the 28-year-old said just days earlier.

“To go back to Melbourne this week and hopefully play in front of my family ... the stars have aligned for me.”

Coach Andy Farrell said Tuipulotu, who qualified for Scotland through his grandmother, was shattered to miss out on playing in front of 90,000 at the MCG.

“When you’ve got a little bit of a tight hamstring, it influences how you’re possibly going to go, so we made the call to go with Bundee,” Farrell said.

“100 per cent (Tuipulotu) is absolutely gutted. He also knows that that’s rugby, fairytales are not always written.

“Sione is a team man anyway. And it’s the same with anyone who’s missed out. Every single one of them has been rowing forward by putting the team first.”

Four days after captaining the Lions in the midweek win over the First Nations and Pasifika, the coach’s son Owen Farrell will make his first Test appearance since the 2023 World Cup after being named on the bench.

Andy Farrell made three changes to the starting line-up that won the first Test 27-19, with lock Joe McCarthy unable to overcome a foot injury, with Olli Chessum the new face.

Andrew Porter will start at loosehead ahead of Ellis Genge, forming an all-Irish front row.

Aki will partner Scotsman Huw Jones in midfield, while the back three of Hugo Keenan, James Lowe and Tommy Freeman is unchanged from the first Test.

Coach Farrell said they were expecting a “massive reaction” from the Wallabies after their disappointment at the 27-19 loss in the opening match in Brisbane.

“We have put ourselves in a good position after the first Test, but we know there will be a massive reaction from this Wallaby team,” Farrell said in a statement.

“Everyone saw the quality they have in Brisbane and we know we will have to be a lot better than we were last week.

Meanwhile, the Wallabies have turned to Will Skelton for the do-or-die clash with the giant lock one of the few players in the squad who have lifted any silverware.

Skelton was one of three key inclusions for Saturday night’s must-win match at the MCG, where the series is on the line, with coach Joe Schmidt able to name his strongest side of 2025.

Australia’s best player for the past two years, flanker Rob Valetini, and World Cup hooker Dave Porecki have also been included in the starting line-up after missing the series-opening 27-19 loss in Brisbane through injury.

With Skelton 145kg and 203cm, Schmidt is counting on the extra muscle helping the Wallabies match the physicality of the Lions, who dominated the hosts in the collision battle in the first Test.

“We don’t want to be nice. We don’t want to be submissive,” Schmidt said after naming the team in Melbourne on Thursday.

“We didn’t have the intention last week, and we don’t have the intention this week of being submissive. We’re hopeful that we will be able to take that to them ... and keep them on the back foot a little bit more.”

The Wallabies’ trophy cabinet is almost bare but Skelton is a four-time European champion who won two English premiership trophies with Saracens and two Top 14 gongs with his French club La Rochelle, as well as a Super Rugby title with the NSW Waratahs.

“Will has accumulated that experience, he knows what it’s like to play these players, he plays them regularly and he’s won against them regularly in the big European games,” Schmidt said.

“Will is a very calm influence ... his experience and his history of being involved in successful teams, I think it just gives other players confidence.

“We’ve got a group of players who haven’t won too much in recent times, whether it’s in Super Rugby or whether it’s internationally.”

The backline remains unchanged from Suncorp Stadium, with Jake Gordon and Tom Lynagh the preferred halves pairing ahead of Tate McDermott and Ben Donaldson, who will again come off the bench.

Schmidt has opted for a six-two forwards-backs bench split, with lock Jeremy Williams, Waratahs back-rower Langi Gleeson and hooker Billy Pollard among the reserves.

He said that served two purposes — with wet weather forecast and also to cover the fact that it’s Skelton and Valetini’s first Test of the year.

Forwards Matt Faessler, Nick Champion de Crespigny and Tom Hooper as well as outside back Andrew Kellaway have dropped out of the match-day 23.

WALLABIES SQUAD: James Slipper, Dave Porecki, Allan Alaalatoa, Nick Frost, Will Skelton, Rob Valetini, Fraser McReight, Harry Wilson (capt), Jake Gordon, Tom Lynagh, Harry Potter, Len Ikitau, Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii, Max Jorgensen, Tom Wright. Bench: Billy Pollard, Angus Bell, Tom Robertson, Jeremy Williams, Langi Gleeson, Carlo Tizzano, Tate McDermott, Ben Donaldson.

BRITISH AND IRISH LIONS: Andrew Porter, Dan Sheehan, Tadhg Furlong, Maro Itoje, Ollie Chessum, Tadhg Beirne, Tom Curry, Jack Conan, Jamison Gibson-Park, Finn Russell, James Lowe, Bundee Aki, Huw Jones, Tommy Freeman, Hugo Keenan. Bench: Ronan Kelleher, Ellis Genge, Will Stuart, James Ryan, Jac Morgan, Alex Mitchell, Owen Farrell, Blair Kinghorn