The European Masters goes up a gear on Thursday and by the close of the play the field will have been whittled down to the final 16.

There are plenty of stars on show in Germany, headlined by four-time world champion Mark Selby, but there are more competitive betting heads to be had which includes Ben Woollaston’s tussle with Tom Ford.

That contest features in our preview along with Ricky Walden’s clash with Michael White.

Ricky Walden -1.5 frames vs Michael White @ 11/10

White held his nerve well to get the better of 13th seed Jack Lisowski in the opening round at the Kia Metropol Arena, but more may be needed to see off the challenge of Ricky Walden.

Lisowski is one of the most naturally gifted players on the snooker circuit but he is a confidence player that is sometimes held back by his lack of consistency.

Similar things can be said for White, a two-time ranking event winner and a former world number 15 that now finds himself languishing at world number 66.

The Welshman remains a dangerous break-builder but those glory days are long gone and it was surprising to see he managed to beat Lisowski despite having only one break over 50.

That means White will need to up his scoring game against Walden, who compiled breaks of 138, 125 and 123 on his way to a 5-3 win over Jamie Jones.

Walden, seeded 20th and clearly in good heart, has won five of his seven previous meetings with White and should uphold that form.

Walnut is more than a fair enough price at 4/6 to prevail over this best-of-nine contest, but value seekers may want to consider taking him to win by at least two frames at 11/10.

Ben Woollaston to beat Tom Ford @ 5/4

These two Leicester cueman are regular practice partners and will know each other’s game extremely well, something which may lend itself to the chances of outsider Ben Woollaston.

This should be a pretty even contest, which is highlighted by a head-to-head record that sees the pair locked level at six wins apiece.

Woollaston may lack the scoring power of good pal Ford but he is extremely solid in every department of the game, which makes him such an awkward opponent.

Woollaston impressed as he came through July’s qualifier against Robert Milkins, one of last season’s form players, and his 5-1 win over Chinese youngster Xu Si was another plucky display.

Ford was put under no pressure in his opening round win against Oliver Brown, a contest he won 5-2 with breaks of 92, 72 and 70.

But Woollaston has the ability to grind Ford down and make the table tricky, something which could expose other aspects of his game.