5 things we spotted at Celtic training as James McCarthy stakes Rangers claim and a familiar face returns

The Celtic players were put through their paces at Lennoxtown on Tuesday as they gear up for the biggest match of the season so far.

Ange Postecoglou's men have cut the gap at the top of the Premiership to just two points, and know they'll leapfrog Rangers with a win on Wednesday night.

A packed Parkhead will be craving a result as incredibly it's over two years since Celtic have got the better of their Glasgow rivals.

As a result Postecoglou will have been looking out for any signs of slackness in training with a massive match on the horizon.

Here are five things we spotted at Lennoxtown.

Celtic are hoping to have Callum McGregor back for the big one, with the skipper able to train wearing a mask following his horror injury against Alloa.

With Nir Bitton suspended and Yosuke Ideguchi working his way back from injury the captain being back would give his manager another option in a deep midfield role.

Postecoglou was keeping his cards close to his chest ahead of the match, but there is at least a chance that the Scotland star will miss out.

In that case summer signing James McCarthy could be given the nod in the engine room.

It's fair to say the 31-year-old's Celtic career hasn't really got going yet, with the midfielder making just four Premiership starts and completing the 90 minutes only twice.

McCarthy has managed a grand total of 11 minutes since the winter break but was certainly in the thick of it at Lennoxtown - is this his chance to really make his mark?

Once seen as a future star, Karamoko Dembele has had a hard time of it this season.

The diminutive winger picked up an injury in pre-season and is yet to make an appearance under Postecoglou.

The 18-year-old was in training ahead of the Rangers match