Essendon will welcome back Orazio Fantasia and Martin Gleeson for its clash against Carlton at the MCG on Saturday night.

The pair replace injured captain Dyson Heppell (ankle) and Matt Guelfi (omitted), with the changes relative to the line-up that faced Sydney in round two.

Fantasia, who failed a fitness test last week, has overcome a low-grade quad strain and will play his first match since round one.

The match will mark Gleeson's first of the season, with the defender's long-awaited return in 2019 one of the Bombers' fairytale stories of the year.

The Bombers will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season in their 249th match against the Blues, with the action beginning at 7:40pm AEST and broadcast live on Channel Seven.

ESSENDON'S ROUND FOUR TEAM:

Backs: 10. Aaron Francis, 26. Cale Hooker, 18. Michael Hurley
Half-backs: 42. Adam Saad, 27. Mason Redman, 14. Jordan Ridley
Centre: 12. Tom Cutler, 7. Zach Merrett, 11. David Zaharakis
Half-forwards: 5. Devon Smith, 40. Will Snelling, 43. Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti
Forwards: 25. Jake Stringer, 44. Shaun McKernan, 20. Jacob Townsend
Followers: 2. Tom Bellchambers, 1. Andrew McGrath, 9. Dylan Shiel
Interchange: 8. Martin Gleeson, 3. Darcy Parish, 4. Kyle Langford, 13. Orazio Fantasia
Emergencies: 34. Andrew Phillips, 35. Matt Guelfi, 29. Patrick Ambrose, 33. Brayden Ham

In: Fantasia, Gleeson

Out: Heppell (ankle), Guelfi (omitted)