Australia v Lions preview, teams and how to follow

Ireland centre Bundee Aki will start for the Lions in Melbourne after coming off the bench in the first Test

Australia v British and Irish Lions - second Test

Venue: Melbourne Cricket Ground Date: Saturday, 26 July Kick-off: 11:00 BST

Coverage: Live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app with post-match analysis on iPlayer, BBC Radio 5 Live and Rugby Union Weekly podcast.

The British and Irish Lions will hope to secure a series victory over Australia when they face the Wallabies in the second Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground on Saturday.

The Lions won the first Test 27-19 in Brisbane on 19 July and another success for Andy Farrell's side would put the tourists in an unassailable position in the three-match series.

An Australia win, meanwhile, would level the series at 1-1 before the final Test in Sydney on 2 August.

For team news, the main talking points and how to follow it on BBC Sport - here's all you need to know.

Who is in the Lions team?

A starting XV containing nine Ireland players shows three changes from the side that won in Brisbane.

Andrew Porter is in for Ellis Genge at loosehead, while Ollie Chessum replaces lock Joe McCarthy, who has a foot injury.

With Sione Tuipulotu suffering from a tight hamstring, Farrell has paired Huw Jones with Bundee Aki in the midfield.

Garry Ringrose was poised to be selected at centre but took himself out of the team on Thursday after feeling the effects of concussion during training. Ringrose missed the match in Brisbane with a head injury.

There are also alterations on the bench, where Jac Morgan - the only Welshman remaining in the squad after Tomos Williams was ruled out of the tour through injury - has been added as a back-row option.

Also included are Owen Farrell and Blair Kinghorn, who both played 80 minutes in the win over First Nations and Pasifika on Tuesday.

What is at stake for the Lions?

Clearly, the big incentive is to wrap up the series with a match to spare.

The Lions have won all seven matches they have played on Australian soil during the 2025 tour. No Lions side has gone unbeaten overseas in a tour since the 1974 trip to South Africa.

It was in South Africa in 1997 that the Lions most recently won the first two Tests of a series, while you have to go back to 1966 for the last time they did it against Australia.

Who is in the Australia team?

Australia coach Joe Schmidt has also made three changes from Brisbane.

Lock Will Skelton and flanker Rob Valetini missed the first Test with calf injuries but will start in Melbourne and are expected to give the Wallabies extra power in their forward pack.

Dave Porecki starts at hooker.

The backs division that started in Brisbane is unchanged, with Tom Lynagh continuing at fly-half to win his fifth international cap.

Win or bust for the Wallabies

Australia trailed the Lions 24-5 in Brisbane before a couple of late tries added some gloss to the full-time scoreline

Australia went into the first Test off the back of one warm-up game, a narrow victory over Fiji.

Although the final margin of defeat in Brisbane was only eight points and they outscored the Lions 14-10 in the second half, the consensus was that the Wallabies were second-best for long spells of the first Test.

Trailing by eight points with the clock in the red for full-time, captain Harry Wilson's decision to kick the ball off the pitch with Australia on their own line led to criticism from ex-England coach Sir Clive Woodward and former Wallabies international David Campese.

Writing in the Daily Mail, Woodward said it demonstrated a "losing mentality", while Campese described it as "ridiculous" speaking on Talksport.

Wing Harry Potter responded to that criticism in midweek.

"It's pretty ridiculous to suggest that the 23 people who played on the weekend have a mentality of losing," said the former Leicester Tigers man.

Saturday's second Test is win or bust for the Wallabies.

"Emotionally it is very simple this week," added Potter. "We all know the task at hand so I don't think anyone has any questions about what is at stake."

Where is the match being played?

Despite its name, the Melbourne Cricket Ground is not just a cricket venue.

It often hosts two or three games of Australian Rules football during the AFL season, while it has also staged State of Origin rugby league games and football matches as well as events in the Olympic and Commonwealth Games.

The MCG has a capacity of more than 100,000 and more than 90,000 people are expected to attend Saturday's second Test.

• Learn more about the iconic venue hosting Saturday's second Test in this piece by BBC rugby union correspondent Chris Jones.

How can I follow the match?

You can follow live text commentary on the BBC Sport website and app, with build-up starting from 10:00 BST.

There will also be post-match reaction and analysis on BBC iPlayer and via Radio 5 Live and the Rugby Union Weekly podcast, which is now producing daily episodes.

You can also follow BBC Sport's dedicated British and Irish Lions page for updates from our reporters in Australia.

The game is being shown live on Sky Sports.

Line-ups

Australia: Wright; Jorgensen, Suaalii, Ikitau, Potter; Lynagh, Gordon; Slipper, Porecki, Alaalatoa, Frost, Skelton, Valetini, McReight, Wilson (capt).

Replacements: Pollard, Bell, Robertson, Williams, Gleeson, Tizzano, McDermott, Donaldson.

British and Irish Lions: Keenan; Freeman, Jones, Aki, Lowe; Russell, Gibson-Park; Porter, Sheehan, Furlong, Itoje (capt), Chessum, Beirne, Curry, Conan.

Replacements: Kelleher, Genge, Stuart, Ryan, Morgan, Mitchell, Farrell, Kinghorn.

Who are the match officials?

Referee: Andrea Piardi (Ita)

Assistant Referee 1: Nika Amashukeli (Geo)

Assistant Referee 2: Ben O'Keeffe (NZ)

TMO: Eric Gauzins (Fra)

Foul play review officer (FPRO): Marius Jonker (SA)