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A major talking point of the Premier League season so far concerns the decline of scoring in open-play scenarios and how teams are netting increasingly from set-plays instead.

Comparing goal sources to the initial 11 matches last season, there have been a drop of 39 scored in open play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and penalties, giving us 13 fewer altogether.

Examining the bigger picture, the number of shots clubs are making reveal a remarkable drop of 370 in open play than at this stage last time out.

Regardless of the significant rise in set-piece goals, we've actually seen a mere two extra shots generated from them excluding penalties, showing the proficiency teams have been at discovering methods to score from dead-ball situations.

Scoring Rates Show an Interesting Narrative

Over 300 goals scored in the first 110 fixtures so far works out at nearly 2.75 goals per fixture, if maintained for the entire campaign could be the lowest for since 2020-21, from five seasons ago (2.69 average).

But just 196 scores coming in open-play averages out 1.78 per fixture and is heading to be the smallest for 16 seasons, from 16 years ago (1.76).

That campaign also marks the unique EPL campaign to witness scoring at a higher rate from non-penalty set-pieces than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 each match (0.79).

What Clubs Bear the Most Responsibility?

In terms of goals scored from open-play, Wolves have seen the largest drop, scoring just four in 11 games, 10 less than this point last season.

Outside of Wolves, England's top division's fall in open-play scoring is largely a trend among London clubs, with five of the London's seven clubs netting at least five less scores from open-play than the previous year.

To be fair, that's largely down to their scoring lots of goals at the start of last season rather than them really struggling to convert in open play this campaign.

Conversely Man City have recorded the biggest increase, with nearly all of their 23 goals to date originating in open-play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

Comparing newly promoted sides with those that were relegated they took the place of. Play-off champions Sunderland have recorded three extra scores in open-play than Southampton did in their first 11 games en route to demotion the previous campaign.

When it comes to scoring from set-plays (aside from spot-kicks), the Gunners and Chelsea have recorded the most significant jump, with each team replacing the reduction of five scores that they've produced in open-play with an equal amount from set-pieces.

Manchester United have scored twice as many scores from set-pieces as they managed in matchday 11 last season ahead of Ruben Amorim took over, while the Black Cats additionally have been better at converting than the fellow red-and-whites that went down.

Manchester City appear not to have received the memo about scoring more from set-plays, because they've scored three less than the previous campaign, similar to Nottingham Forest, though that might be down to the altered approach they have tried to implement.

Overall Patterns

Six teams – Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle, Spurs and the Hammers – represent this term's leading trend-followers by scoring fewer goals from open play and more from set-pieces, while Man City stand as the unique club to defy the pattern to date by achieving the complete reverse.

It remains to be seen to watch if teams persist to depend greatly on set-pieces as the campaign progresses or if they regain their all-round creativity and begin scoring increased totals in open play also.