Bet on PSG’s Flying Forwards to Have an Imminent Impact

Paris Saint-Germain’s forward line continued to thrive during the international break. Luis Enrique has plenty of options in attack and he has used them to devastating effect thus far. 

Scott Thornton has outlined how you can bet on Les Parisiens with the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Gonçalo Ramos, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia and Bradley Barcola in fine fettle. 

Odds courtesy of bet365. Correct at time of publishing and subject to change.

Enrique’s Strength in Depth

When Kylian Mbappe left PSG in the summer, many were left wondering where the goals would come from. Kylian was Ligue 1’s top scorer for the past five seasons for five consecutive seasons. Desire Doue was the only attacker that the club brought in during the summer. The youngster has enjoyed a successful start to life in Paris. The likes of Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembele have also stepped up to the plate, filling the Mbappe-sized void. 

Dembele has established himself as one of the best players in the world in recent months. He has netted 21 goals in the league already this season, dwarfing his tally of three in the previous campaign. In 2025, he has scored 21 goals in 19 appearances for club and country. Ousmane is terrific with both feet and can play in any of the forward positions. His pace and versatility have made him impossible for opponents to pin down. Ousmane scored the goal that took PSG to penalties against Liverpool in the last round of the Champions League.

Bradley Barcola has been PSG’s second-most deadly player in front of goal. The 22-year-old has registered 13 goals and seven assists in 26 league appearances. He also has six goal contributions in Europe. He ranks in the top 10% for non-penalty goals, assists, progressive carries, progressive passes received and touches in the opposition box per 90 minutes played compared with attacking midfielders and wingers playing in Europe’s top five leagues in the past year. 

Doue came off the bench to make his debut for France (pictured below)  in the win over Croatia and looked lively. While he hasn’t been as effective as Dembele in terms of goal contributions, Doue offers a lot going forward. Desire ranks in the top 6% for progressive carries and successful take-ons compared with all attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues. He is one of many superb dribblers in this PSG forward line. 

PSG paid a hefty fee to bring in Khvicha Kvaratskhelia in the January transfer window. The Georgian has certainly hit the ground running and is already a key cog in Enrique’s goal machine. He emerges from the international break in good form. Khvicha scored and assisted a goal in Georgia’s win over Armenia. Gonçalo Ramos will also arrive back in France in good spirits having scored the final goal as Portugal beat Denmark in the Nations League. 

The bookmakers expect one-way traffic in PSG’s next match and all of their forwards will arrive back in training in fine spirits. As a result, they are all short odds to score against St. Etienne.

Enrique will be keen for his side to continue the momentum they built before the international break. He certainly has the attacking options to ensure they do just that. 

The Numbers Have Improved Without Mbappe

 Luis Enrique has given PSG a clear identity. The club had previously focused on signing big-name players in pursuit of success. A front three of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappe was unable to deliver Champions League success so a change of approach was needed. 

Mbappe was the last of PSG’s ‘galacticos’ to depart and the team’s attacking output has increased in his absence. Les Parisiens’ are scoring an average of 2.81 goals in Ligue 1 , an increase of 0.43 compared to last season. The underlying data shows this is no fluke. PSG have an xG (expected goals) of 80.16, already eclipsing their tally of 72.88 from the whole of the previous league campaign.

PSG have been the dominant force in French football since Qatari Sports Investments bought them in 2011. The Champions League is the holy grail for the club’s hierarchy and their attack is proving to be just as effective against Europe’s best defenders. Enrique’s side beat Liverpool in the round of 16, who were the favourites to win the tournament following the league phase. BETSiE gives PSG an excellent chance of going on to win the trophy and the team have their forwards to thank.

Enrique’s side have scored 25 goals in the Champions League so far this season. This equates to an average of 2.08 goals, 0.50 more goals per game than they managed in the 2023/24 campaign. They made it to the semi-final stage last season. Can this improved attack go even further?

PSG’s Attack Will Continue to Flourish in the Matches to Come

PSG face St. Etienne at the Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in their next match. Enrique knows he can rely on his swashbuckling forward line to get the job done, which is just as well, because his team have been conceding plenty of goals on the road of late.  They have kept just one clean sheet in five league away games in 2025 so we are backing both teams to score here. 

St. Etienne have scored an average of 1.25 goals per home game this season. They have failed to find the net in just one of their five matches in front of their own fans in this calendar year. While Les Verts have a miserable record against PSG, they have made a habit of getting on the scoresheet in the recent head-to-heads. Both teams have scored in the last five meetings between the sides. Those matches have seen 3.6 goals on average with PSG winning four of them.

With PSG leading their league rivals by 19 points, Enrique will have one eye on the first leg of their Champions League clash with Aston Villa and their attack can come up trumps once again.  BETSiE projects that Les Parisiens will outscore the Villains in both legs. 

Our bet focuses on the first leg at the Parc Des Princes. PSG hammered Liverpool, who are currently top of the Premier League, at this ground. Enrique’s side had 27 attempts and created three big chances. They will want to make their chances pay this time around so we are backing the home side to score three goals in the first leg, just above BETSiE’s projection. Les Parisiens have scored an average of 2.65 goals per home game across all competitions this season. An emphatic win here could put the tie to bed before the second leg at Villa Park. 

Aston Villa have conceded in their last four Champions League matches on the road and this will be their toughest European away game by far. RB Leipzig are their highest ranked opponents in the UEFA coefficient rankings to date. The German side are 20th, whereas PSG rank 5th.

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