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One of the biggest stories of England's top flight this campaign concerns the decline of scoring in open-play scenarios and the way clubs have been scoring increasingly from set-pieces as an alternative.

Comparing goal sources to the initial 11 matches last season, we note 39 fewer goals in open play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and spot-kicks, giving us 13 less overall.

Considering the bigger picture, the number of shots teams are taking show a staggering 370 fewer in open-play than at this stage last time out.

And despite the notable jump in dead-ball scores, there have actually been a mere two extra shots generated from these situations excluding spot-kicks, demonstrating the proficiency clubs are at discovering methods to net from dead-ball situations.

Goal Averages Reveal a Story

Over 300 goals recorded in 110 matches up to now works out at 2.74 scores per game, which if it continued for the whole season might be the least for since 2020-21, back in 2020-21 (2.69 per game).

But just 196 goals coming in open-play averages out 1.78 each match and is tracking to be the least for 16 years, back in 2009-10 (1.76 per game).

2009-10 is also the sole English top-flight campaign to see scoring at a higher rate from dead-balls without spot-kicks than this season's rate of 0.77 per fixture (0.79).

Which Sides Account for This Change?

Regarding goals scored from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have experienced the most significant drop, registering just four in 11 games, a reduction of 10 than at this stage last season.

Excluding Wolverhampton, the EPL's drop in goals from open play is predominantly a London thing, with five out of the capital's seven sides recording a minimum of five fewer goals from open-play than the prior season.

Honestly, that's largely down to their scoring many scores at the early stages of the previous campaign instead of them really struggling to score in open play this season.

At the same time Man City have seen the biggest increase, with all but one of their 23 scores so far arriving in open-play.

Set-Piece Success

We've compared clubs that came up with the teams that went down they replaced. Sunderland Sunderland have netted three more scores in open play than the Saints achieved in matchday 11 leading to the drop the previous campaign.

In terms of scoring from set-plays (excluding penalties), Arsenal and the Blues have seen the largest rise, with the two clubs making up for the reduction of five goals that they've netted in open-play with an equal amount from dead-ball situations.

Man United have scored two times more scores from set-plays as they achieved in the 11 games the previous campaign before their coach assumed control, while Sunderland once more have been more successful at netting than the club they replaced they superseded.

City don't seem to have got the memo about scoring more from set-plays, because they've scored a reduction of three than the previous campaign, similar to Forest, although this may result from the change in style they're working to install.

Overall Patterns

Six teams – the Gunners, Chelsea, Fulham, the Magpies, Tottenham and West Ham – are the current campaign's leading trend-followers by netting less goals from open play and more from set-pieces, while Man City stand as the sole team to defy the pattern up to now by achieving the exact opposite.

It will be fascinating to observe if teams carry on to place such emphasis on set-plays as matches continue or if they rediscover their overall inventiveness and commence scoring increased totals in open-play too.