Essendon has made four changes to its side ahead of a Saturday afternoon encounter with old rivals Hawthorn.

The Dons will call upon Nik Cox after his seven-goal haul in the VFL, with Will Setterfield and Ben McKay also returning to the lineup.

Ruck Lachie Blakiston slots back into the side in the absence of Nick Bryan, who'll miss through injury after copping a couple of very heavy knocks last week.

Xavier Duursma has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a high-grade hamstring injury, and Kyle Langford will serve his one-week suspension for rough conduct.

Jye Caldwell has been managed this week.

Saturday's clash gets underway at the MCG from 4:15pm AEST.