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A key narrative of the EPL this campaign has been the reduction of scoring in open play and how teams are netting more from dead-ball situations as an alternative.

Comparing how goals have been scored to the first 11 games the prior season, there have been 39 fewer scored in open-play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, giving us 13 fewer overall.

If we look at the bigger picture, shot attempts clubs are making have seen a staggering 370 fewer in open-play than at this stage previously.

Even with the big increase in dead-ball scores, we've actually seen only two additional shots produced from them excluding spot-kicks, indicating the efficiency sides have been at discovering methods to score from dead-ball situations.

Scoring Rates Show a Story

301 total goals scored in 110 games so far calculates at 2.74 scores each match, if this persists for all 38 games could be the lowest for five years, back in 2020-21 (2.69).

Yet merely 196 goals scored in open-play equates to 1.78 each match and is heading to be the least for 16 years, from 16 years ago (1.76 per game).

That campaign additionally represents the only Premier League season to witness scoring more often from set-plays excluding penalties than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per fixture (0.79).

What Clubs Are Most Responsible?

Regarding goals scored from open play, Wolves have seen the most significant drop, netting a mere four in 11 games, 10 less than this point the previous campaign.

Apart from Wolves, the EPL's decline in goals from open play is largely a London thing, with five out of the capital's seven sides scoring a minimum of five goals fewer from open-play than last season.

In fairness, this is primarily due to them netting numerous goals at the beginning of the previous campaign instead of their genuine struggle to find the net in open play the current term.

Conversely Manchester City have seen the largest rise, with almost every one of their 23 goals this season originating in open-play.

Set-Play Proficiency

Comparing newly promoted sides with those that were relegated that they superseded. Play-off champions the Black Cats have netted three more scores in open-play than Southampton managed in matchday 11 leading to demotion the previous campaign.

Regarding scoring from set-plays (aside from penalties), Arsenal and Chelsea have recorded the largest rise, with both sides replacing the reduction of five scores that they've scored in open play with identical figures from set-pieces.

Manchester United have netted two times more scores from set-pieces as they achieved in matchday 11 the previous campaign ahead of the manager assumed control, while the Black Cats additionally have been more effective at netting than the similar-colored team they superseded.

Manchester City seem unaware of the memo about scoring more from set-pieces, as they've netted three fewer than the previous campaign, as have Forest, even if this could be because of the tactical shift they've attempted to adopt.

League-Wide Trends

Six clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, the Cottagers, the Magpies, Spurs and West Ham – represent this term's leading trend-followers by recording fewer scores from open-play and increased from set-plays, while Manchester City are the unique club to defy the pattern to date by achieving the exact opposite.

It will be fascinating to observe if sides carry on to depend greatly on set-plays as matches continue or if they regain their overall inventiveness and begin netting increased totals in open-play as well.