There is a welcome return for Tadhg Furlong, who has played just nine times this season because of various injuries and has not featured for Leinster since their defeat by Northampton in the Investec Champions Cup semi-finals last month.
The tight-head will start on the bench, with his Ireland colleague Finlay Bealham to wear the three jersey after he replaced Scotland's Zander Fagerson in the squad when the Scotland prop was ruled out of the trip through injury.
Two Northampton Saints club-mates, Alex Mitchell and Fin Smith, will team up at nine and 10.
That pair are two of 14 in the 23 who will be representing the Lions for the first time.
The tour party's two Welshmen are also first-timers.
Wales captain Jac Morgan starts in the back row while Gallagher Premiership player of the season Tomos Williams is on the bench as scrum-half cover.
Backs Aki, Marcus Smith and Duhan van der Merwe, as well as forwards Luke Cowan-Dickie, Tadhg Beirne and Tom Curry were all also part of the tour to South Africa four years ago.
Skipper Itoje, as well as replacements Furlong and Elliot Daly, were on that trip as well as the visit to New Zealand four years prior.
The touring party will depart for the southern hemisphere after the fixture, with their first game in Australia against the Western Force in Perth on 28 June.