Ligue 1: Who Can Stop PSG?

Three games into the new campaign and the Ligue 1 table has a familiar look about it, with Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain riding high on a 100 per cent start and the Ligue 1 2025 betting odds say that, once again, PSG will take some stopping.

Since the takeover of the club by Qatari Sports Investments in 2011, we have watched the face of French football transformed as PSG has plundered 11 Ligue 1 titles to add to the two it picked up in the previous 40 years.

Last season the club finally won the Champions League and followed that up by dominating the Club World Cup before losing to a spectacular blitz from Chelsea in the final. And when you look at Enrique’s squad it’s hard to see how they can be beaten in France. The red hot SBOTOP favourites are captained by Brazil legend Marquinhos, and with the creative flair of Achraf Hakimi, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue and Bradley Barcola in their ranks, as well as Portugal star Gonzalo Ramos as a striker, PSG have been superb to watch over the past 12 months, playing the most scintillating football in Europe.

The January signing of Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia took the Parisiens to the next level and in summer the club added Ukrainian centre-back Ilya Zabarnyi in a €63m move from Bournemouth.

1-0 wins over Nantes and Angers and then a 6-3 mauling of Toulouse have given PSG the perfect start…but which teams believe they can stop the juggernaut?

Olympique Lyonnais

The most fascinating prospect is the fallen giant of Lyon who very nearly started this campaign in Ligue 2 but has begun their top flight challenge with three straight wins, beating last season’s runners up Olympique Marseille 1-0, RC Lens by the same margin and Metz 3-0.

The financial mess which engulfed the club threatened to derail a sixth placed finish but after Lyon appointed Michele Kang as president there has been a return to stability and the club has been allowed to play in Ligue 1 and in the Europa League. OL are managed by Jorge Maciel in the absence of head coach Paulo Fonseca who received a nine month touchline ban for confronting the referee during Lyon’s 2-1 win over Brest in March. And it is so far so good for the makeshift management team.

Seven times Ligue 1 winners between 2002 and 2008, Lyon was the powerhouse of French football before PSG took over and, with a passionate fan-base they will make plenty of Ligue 1 2025 news headlines this year. Skippered by France star Corentin Tolisso, and with experienced defenders Nicolas Tagliafico and Ainsley Maitland Niles in their ranks Lyon will be hard to beat, but look out for 20 year old Belgian winger Malick Fofana who is a real livewire.

Lille

With two wins and a draw the 2021 champions, who finished fifth last term, have made a decent start, already beating top four rival AS Monaco in their opening fixtures. Les Bleus legend Olivier Giroud leads the line while Belgian wing back Thomas Meunier adds quality in the back four. But Lille’s most exciting prospect is Kylian Mbappe’s 18 year old brother Ethan, a creative midfielder with his older brother’s swagger.

AS Monaco

Despite losing to Lille, Monaco have made a decent start, with two wins taking them up to six points and in fourth place. After a third placed finish last term the principality has strengthened with the signing of France midfielder Paul Pogba, whose doping ban was reduced from four years to 18 months. He only made two appearances for Juventus in the 2023/24 season and has not played since, and the former Manchester United star has a big point to prove. Skippered by Swiss midfielder Denis Zakaria, and with 22 year old forward Ansu Fati on loan from Barcelona, as well as England defender Eric Dier at the back, this is a team with plenty of big names and Pogba will have to buckle down and show his worth.

Olympique Marseille

Last season’s runners up have made a slow start and are down in tenth after picking up just one win and two defeats; but they are unlikely to be flagging for long having added more quality to an already strong squad.

The return of striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang from Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah is a popular move with the OM fans and the Gabon striker, who scored 21 goals in Saudi last term, has started well back in France, with two goals and an assist already. Wingback Benjamin Pavard is the other big name to arrive, on loan from Inter Milan, and he will strengthen a back-line which has also seen centre back CJ Egan-Riley arrive from Burnley, having helped the Clarets to a record breaking defensive campaign in 2024/25.

Marseilles are already playing catch-up, but there is a long way to go.

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