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One of the biggest stories of England's top flight season so far has been the reduction of scoring in open play and the way teams are finding goals more from set-pieces as an alternative.

When we compare goal sources to the initial 11 matches last season, we see 39 fewer scored in open-play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, resulting in 13 less in total.

If we look at overall statistics, shot attempts clubs are making show an incredible 370 fewer in open play than at this stage previously.

Even with the significant rise in dead-ball scores, there have actually been just two more attempts created from them excluding spot-kicks, demonstrating the efficiency teams are at discovering methods to net from dead-ball situations.

Scoring Rates Tell an Interesting Narrative

Over 300 goals notched in 110 games up to now averages out at nearly 2.75 goals per fixture, which if it continued for the whole season could be the smallest for since 2020-21, from five seasons ago (2.69).

Yet merely under 200 goals scored in open-play averages out 1.78 per game and is on course to be the lowest for 16 years, since 2009-10 (1.76).

That campaign additionally represents the unique EPL campaign to see scoring more frequently from set-plays excluding penalties than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per fixture (0.79 average).

Which Teams Bear the Most Responsibility?

Regarding scoring from open play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have recorded by far the biggest decline, netting just four in their first 11 fixtures, 10 fewer than at this stage the previous campaign.

Excluding Wolves, the Premier League's decline in goals from open play is largely a trend among London clubs, with half of the city's seven teams netting five or more goals fewer from open play than last season.

To be fair, this is mainly because them netting numerous scores at the start of the previous campaign as opposed to them having difficulty to score in open play this season.

Meanwhile City have seen the biggest increase, with nearly all of their 23 scores to date coming in open-play.

Set-Piece Success

We've compared newly promoted sides with those that were relegated they replaced. Play-off champions the Black Cats have recorded an additional three scores in open play than the Saints managed in their opening 11 matches on their way to demotion the previous campaign.

In terms of goals scored from set-plays (not counting penalties), Arsenal and the Blues have recorded the largest rise, with each team replacing the reduction of five goals that they've scored in open-play with an equal amount from set-pieces.

Manchester United have scored two times more scores from set-pieces as they did in matchday 11 the previous campaign before Ruben Amorim took over, while the Black Cats once more are more successful at converting than the club they replaced they replaced.

Man City seem unaware of the trend about netting additional goals from set-plays, since they've recorded three less than the previous campaign, similar to Nottingham Forest, though that might be down to the change in style they've attempted to adopt.

Overall Patterns

Six clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, the Magpies, Tottenham and West Ham – represent this term's top trend-setters by netting less goals from open-play and additional from set-pieces, while Manchester City represent the unique club to buck the trend so far by achieving the exact opposite.

It will be interesting to observe if clubs continue to depend greatly on set-pieces as the season goes on or if they rediscover their all-round creativity and start netting additional scores in open-play also.