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One of the biggest stories of the EPL season so far has been the reduction of goals scored in open-play scenarios and the way clubs have been scoring increasingly from dead-ball situations as an alternative.

Looking at goal sources to matchday 11 last season, there have been 39 fewer scored in open-play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, giving us 13 fewer altogether.

Considering the bigger picture, efforts on goal clubs are making have seen a remarkable 370 fewer in open play than this time last time out.

Even with the big increase in dead-ball scores, records show a mere two extra attempts created from these situations outside of spot-kicks, demonstrating the proficiency sides have been at devising strategies to convert from set-pieces.

Goal Statistics Show a Story

Over 300 goals notched in the first 110 fixtures so far averages out at nearly 2.75 goals each match, which if it continued for all 38 games could be the least for five years, back in 2020-21 (2.69 average).

But just 196 scores coming in open play equates to 1.78 per game and is tracking to be the lowest for since 2009-10, back in 2009-10 (1.76).

That campaign additionally represents the only Premier League season to experience goals scored at a higher rate from set-plays excluding penalties than the current rate of 0.77 per fixture (0.79 average).

Which Sides Are Most Responsible?

In terms of scoring from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have recorded the most significant decline, netting just four in their first 11 fixtures, 10 fewer than at this stage the previous campaign.

Apart from Wolves, England's top division's decline in open-play scoring is predominantly a London phenomenon, with five of the capital's seven sides recording five or more less scores from open-play than the previous year.

Honestly, this is primarily due to their scoring many scores at the beginning of last season instead of their genuine struggle to find the net in open-play this campaign.

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

Set-Play Proficiency

Comparing the promoted teams with those that were relegated they replaced. Play-off champions the Black Cats have netted three extra scores in open-play than Southampton did in matchday 11 en route to relegation the previous campaign.

Regarding scoring from dead-ball situations (not counting penalties), Arsenal and the Blues have seen the biggest increase, with each team replacing the five less scores that they've produced in open play with an equal amount from dead-ball chances.

Manchester United have netted two times more goals from set-plays as they did in the first 11 matches last season prior to the manager assumed control, while Sunderland additionally prove more effective at scoring than the club they replaced they superseded.

Manchester City appear not to have received the memo about scoring more from set-pieces, because they've scored a reduction of three than the previous campaign, similar to the Reds, even if this may result from the tactical shift they've attempted to adopt.

General Tendencies

Six sides – Arsenal, the Blues, the Cottagers, the Magpies, Tottenham and the Hammers – have been the current campaign's leading trend-followers by scoring fewer scores from open-play and additional from set-pieces, while City represent the sole team to go against the grain so far by achieving the contrary.

It will be fascinating to see if sides continue to depend greatly on set-plays as the campaign progresses or if they rediscover their overall inventiveness and start scoring increased totals in open-play too.