Paris Saint-Germain finished 19 points clear of the Ligue 1 pack last season
Lorient, Paris FC and Metz gained promotion from the second tier
Runners-up Marseille joined Monaco in earning Champions League places
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Paris Saint-Germain landed their fourth Ligue 1 crown on the spin last season and a seventh in eight seasons for the capital club.
Luis Enrique also led the Parisians to the much-coveted Champions League title as they crushed Inter Milan 5-0 in Munich and completed an unprecedented quadruple.
Stopping the PSG train looks an arduous task for anyone in France, but Monaco could be primed to finish as the 'best of the rest' in Ligue 1.
The latest Ligue 1 odds are available on LiveScore Bet
PSG unlikely to be caught
Paris Saint-Germain had a whopping 19 points to spare on the chasing pack at the end of last season, despite suffering their only two defeats in the closing weeks, when the title was secured and their focus was firmly switched to their continental coronation.
Enrique's squad isn't the biggest but the Spaniard found time to rotate as he balanced domestic and European challenges, with no PSG player starting more than 27 of their 34 league games.
They avoided serious injuries and, thus far, PSG haven't been that active in the summer transfer market, although a £57million deal to sign Bournemouth defender Illia Zabarnyi has recently gone through.
Lille stopper Lucas Chevalier has also come in, with Gianluigi Donnarumma seemingly heading for the exit door.
The immensely talented Desire Doue promises so much, while Ousmane Dembele was outstanding last season. PSG are 1/9 to be champions of France again and it's hard to oppose their claims.
The latest Ligue 1 odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Monaco can be next best
Marseille were the silver-medallists last time but Monaco are well poised to overtake them in 2025/26.
Both teams will have Champions League commitments to balance against domestic progress.
Monaco have recruited some experience in the form of Paul Pogba and Eric Dier. The former is back from a long absence but, at 32, could have plenty to offer and the oft-maligned Dier proved at Bayern Munich last season he still has plenty to offer when marshalling at the back for a team with competence around him.
Monaco have promising young stars like Maghnes Akliouche, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Soungoutou Magassa that could ignite around the likes of Pogba. They can overtake Marseille and nail second spot.
Lens coming into focus
New manager Pierre Sage will have high hopes at Lens. They don't have the complication of European football this season and it could be a real help to them domestically.
They finished second to PSG in the 2022/23 campaign and can make an assault on the top three again under the former Lyon boss.
They were down in eighth last season but had the third-best defensive record in the division, while they beat both Marseille and Monaco during a good second half of the season.
Samson Baidoo, Jeremy Agbonifo, and Martin Satriano are amongst the promising young faces to arrive, while experienced striker Florian Thauvin has joined from Udinese as they have invested from the sale of Kevin Danso to Tottenham.
Back Monaco without PSG at 5/2 with LiveScore Bet
Back Lens to finish in the top three at 8/1 with LiveScore Bet
