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One of the biggest stories of England's top flight this campaign concerns the reduction of scoring in open-play scenarios and the way sides are finding goals more from set-pieces instead.

Looking at goal sources to the initial 11 matches the prior season, there have been 39 fewer scored in open-play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and spot-kicks, resulting in 13 fewer in total.

If we look at overall statistics, shot attempts sides are producing reveal a remarkable 370 fewer in open-play than at this stage previously.

Even with the big increase in dead-ball scores, we've actually seen just two more attempts produced from them outside of spot-kicks, showing how effective sides have been at finding ways to net from dead-ball chances.

Scoring Rates Tell a Story

Over 300 goals scored in 110 games to date averages out at 2.74 scores per fixture, if maintained for the entire campaign could be the lowest for since 2020-21, from five seasons ago (2.69).

Yet merely 196 scores coming in open-play averages out 1.78 per game and is heading to be the least for 16 years, back in 2009-10 (1.76 per game).

2009-10 also marks the sole English top-flight season to experience goals scored more often from dead-balls without spot-kicks than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79 average).

Which Teams Are Most Responsible?

In terms of scoring from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have recorded by far the biggest decline, netting just four in 11 games, a reduction of 10 than this point the previous campaign.

Excluding Wolverhampton, the Premier League's fall in open-play scoring is very much a London thing, with half of the city's seven teams scoring five or more fewer goals from open-play than the previous year.

Honestly, this is mainly because their scoring lots of scores at the early stages of the previous campaign instead of them having difficulty to score in open play the current term.

At the same time City have seen the most significant jump, with nearly all of their 23 goals this season originating in open-play.

Set-Play Proficiency

Looking at the promoted teams with the teams that went down that they superseded. Sunderland the Black Cats have netted three more scores in open play than Southampton managed in their opening 11 matches leading to demotion last season.

Regarding scoring from set-pieces (not counting spot-kicks), Arsenal and the Blues have experienced the largest rise, with both sides compensating for the five less scores that they've produced in open play with the same number from set-pieces.

United have recorded twice as many goals from set-pieces as they did in the 11 games last season ahead of the manager assumed control, while Sunderland once more are more effective at converting than the fellow red-and-whites they superseded.

Man City seem unaware of the memo about scoring more from set-plays, because they've recorded three fewer than last season, as have Forest, although this could be because of the altered approach they're working to install.

Overall Patterns

Six sides – Arsenal, Chelsea, the Cottagers, Newcastle, Spurs and the Hammers – represent this term's leading trend-followers by recording fewer scores from open-play and increased from set-plays, while Manchester City stand as the unique club to go against the grain so far by doing the contrary.

It will be interesting to see if clubs continue to depend greatly on set-pieces as the campaign progresses or if they rediscover their overall inventiveness and commence netting increased totals in open-play too.