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One of the biggest stories of the Premier League this campaign has been the drop of scoring in open-play scenarios and how teams are netting increasingly from set-pieces instead.

When we compare goal sources to matchday 11 last season, there have been a drop of 39 goals in open play and an increase of 26 from team set-pieces and spot-kicks, resulting in 13 less overall.

If we look at the broader view, efforts on goal clubs are making reveal an incredible drop of 370 in open-play than at this stage last season.

And despite the big increase in dead-ball scores, records show a mere two extra shots produced from them excluding spot-kicks, showing the efficiency clubs are at finding ways to net from dead-ball chances.

Scoring Rates Reveal an Interesting Narrative

Over 300 goals recorded in 110 matches so far calculates at 2.74 goals per fixture, which if it continued for the entire campaign might be the smallest for half a decade, since 2020-21 (2.69 average).

However, only 196 goals scored in open-play translates to 1.78 per game and is tracking to be the least for 16 seasons, from 16 years ago (1.76 per game).

2009-10 additionally represents the sole English top-flight season to experience scoring more frequently from non-penalty set-pieces than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79 per game).

Which Sides Account for This Change?

Regarding scoring from open play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have seen by far the biggest drop, registering a mere four in 11 matches, 10 less than this point the previous campaign.

Outside of Wolves, England's top division's decline in open-play scoring is largely a trend among London clubs, with five of the London's seven clubs netting at least five goals fewer from open play than the prior season.

To be fair, this is mainly because their scoring lots of scores at the beginning of last season instead of them really struggling to convert in open-play the current term.

Conversely Manchester City have recorded the largest rise, with almost every one of the 23 they've scored to date originating in open-play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

Looking at newly promoted sides with the relegated sides that they superseded. Play-off champions the Black Cats have netted three extra scores in open-play than Southampton did in their opening 11 matches on their way to relegation the previous campaign.

In terms of scoring from set-plays (excluding penalties), Arsenal and the Blues have seen the most significant jump, with both sides compensating for the five less goals that they've scored in open-play with identical figures from dead-ball situations.

Man United have recorded twice as many goals from set-plays as they did in the 11 games the previous campaign prior to their coach assumed control, while Sunderland again prove more successful at scoring than the similar-colored team they superseded.

Man City seem unaware of the message about scoring more from set-plays, because they've recorded three less than last season, like the Reds, even if this could be because of the tactical shift they have tried to implement.

League-Wide Trends

Six sides – Arsenal, the Blues, the Cottagers, the Magpies, Tottenham and the Hammers – represent this term's top trend-setters by netting less goals from open play and increased from set-plays, while Man City represent the sole team to buck the trend to date by achieving the contrary.

It will be interesting to watch if clubs carry on to place such emphasis on set-pieces as matches continue or if they rediscover their all-round creativity and start converting increased totals in open play also.