LONDON, Oct 10 (Reuters) - European stocks are set to fall sharply on Friday, tracking slides in the U.S and Asian markets as fears of a global recession mounted and efforts by government and central banks failed to unlock credit markets.

Financial bookmakers expected Britain's FTSE 100 .FTSE to open down as much as 7.1 percent, Germany's DAX .GDAXI to open as much as 7.2 percent lower and France's CAC-40 .FCHI to be as much as 8.2 percent lower in the open.

The FTSEurofirst 300 of top European companies fell for a fourth day on Thursday, losing 2.1 percent. The index has shed more than 15 percent so far this week, on track for its worst week on record. (Reporting by Simon Falush; Editing by Paul Bolding)