14:40 Cheltenham

Andy Holding Selection for 14:40 Cheltenham

It’s a fair comment to say PANIC ATTACK (NAP) (best price 15-4) has improved since undergoing wind surgery and if she can run to the same level of any of her previous three starts, David Pipe’s mare might well gain due reward for her consistency.

Runner-up in a competitive handicap hurdle on her final start last season, the daughter has only managed to visit the racecourse twice since but, as both performances have been in very strong contests against the boys, the policy to keep her lightly-raced seems to be working. Fourth here over the Old Course back in October, the six-year-old has gone on to better than effort when third in an ultra-competitive heat at Uttoxeter on Midlands National day and with the speed figure suggesting it’s very strong form (winner ran well at Aintree last week), a race of today’s nature against her own sex should be well within her range.

20:00 Thursday

George Gamble Selection for Lyon vs West Ham

The hosts will be exceptionally disappointed that they were unable to capitalise on their man advantage and will be keen to get the job done in front of their own fans. They rested the defence that started the first leg for their trip to Strasbourg and withdrew the likes of Tetê, Houssem Aouar and Moussa Dembele in the second half, presumably with this match in mind.

David Moyes team arrive here unable to call on Angelo Ogbonna, Aaron Cresswell and possibly Kurt Zouma, who is doubtful after he limped off away to Brentford at the weekend. If so, the lefthand side of West ham’s defence looks as though it could be a weak point and if things click for Lyon, they could easily exploit that and score a couple of goals here. I’m surprised to see odds of 6/5 for ‘Les Gones’ to score two or more against a team that has conceded in 13 of their last 14 away matches across all competitions.