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A key narrative of England's top flight this campaign has been the drop of goals scored in open play and how clubs are finding goals increasingly from set-pieces as an alternative.

Comparing goal sources to the initial 11 matches the prior season, there have been 39 fewer goals in open-play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and penalties, resulting in 13 less overall.

Considering the bigger picture, the number of shots sides are producing have seen a staggering 370 fewer in open play than this time last time out.

Even with the notable jump in set-piece goals, records show just two more attempts generated from them excluding spot-kicks, indicating the efficiency clubs are at finding ways to score from dead-ball chances.

Goal Statistics Tell an Interesting Narrative

301 total goals scored in the first 110 fixtures up to now calculates at 2.74 goals per fixture, which if it continued for the whole season could be the lowest for five years, back in 2020-21 (2.69 average).

Yet merely 196 goals scored in open play averages out 1.78 per fixture and is on course to be the least for since 2009-10, back in 2009-10 (1.76).

The 2009-10 season is also the sole English top-flight season to witness goals scored more often from non-penalty set-pieces than this season's rate of 0.77 each match (0.79 average).

What Clubs Bear the Most Responsibility?

Regarding goals scored from open play, Wolves have recorded the largest drop, netting a mere four in their first 11 fixtures, a reduction of 10 than at this stage the previous campaign.

Excluding Wolves, the EPL's fall in open play goals is largely a trend among London clubs, with five of the London's seven clubs recording a minimum of five fewer goals from open play than last season.

To be fair, that's largely down to them netting lots of scores at the start of the previous campaign rather than them really struggling to score in open play the current term.

At the same time Man City have seen the largest rise, with almost every one of the 23 they've scored so far arriving in open-play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

We've compared newly promoted sides with those that were relegated they took the place of. Play-off champions the Black Cats have netted three more goals in open-play than the Saints achieved in their opening 11 matches leading to the drop last season.

In terms of goals scored from set-pieces (aside from penalties), the Gunners and the Blues have seen the most significant jump, with each team making up for the five less goals that they've produced in open-play with identical figures from dead-ball situations.

United have scored twice as many scores from set-plays as they did in the 11 games the previous campaign prior to their coach took over, while the Black Cats additionally prove more effective at scoring than the club they replaced they replaced.

City appear not to have received the memo about scoring more from set-pieces, since they've netted three fewer than last season, similar to Forest, even if this may result from the change in style they have tried to implement.

League-Wide Trends

Six clubs – the Gunners, the Blues, Fulham, the Magpies, Tottenham and West Ham – have been this season's leading trend-followers by scoring fewer goals from open play and increased from set-plays, while Man City stand as the sole team to buck the trend to date by doing the contrary.

It will be interesting to watch if teams continue to depend greatly on set-pieces as matches continue or if they rediscover their overall inventiveness and begin netting more goals in open-play also.