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One of the biggest stories of the Premier League this campaign is the decline of scoring in open play and how clubs are netting more from set-pieces as an alternative.

Comparing scoring methods to the initial 11 matches last season, we see a drop of 39 goals in open-play and an increase of 26 from team set-pieces and penalties, giving us 13 less altogether.

If we look at the bigger picture, efforts on goal sides are producing show a staggering 370 fewer in open play than at this stage last season.

And despite the big increase in dead-ball scores, we've actually seen a mere two extra shots created from them outside of spot-kicks, indicating how effective clubs have been at discovering methods to net from dead-ball chances.

Scoring Rates Reveal the Tale

301 total goals scored in the first 110 fixtures to date calculates at 2.74 scores each match, if maintained for all 38 games would be the least for five years, since 2020-21 (2.69).

Yet merely 196 goals coming in open play translates to 1.78 per game and is on course to be the least for 16 years, since 2009-10 (1.76).

The 2009-10 season additionally represents the sole English top-flight campaign to experience scoring at a higher rate from dead-balls without spot-kicks than the current rate of 0.77 per fixture (0.79).

What Clubs Account for This Change?

Regarding scoring from open play, Wolves have experienced by far the biggest decline, scoring a mere four in 11 matches, 10 fewer than this point last season.

Apart from Wolves, England's top division's decline in goals from open play is predominantly a London phenomenon, with five out of the London's seven clubs recording a minimum of five fewer goals from open play than last season.

Honestly, this is mainly because their scoring lots of goals at the beginning of last season as opposed to their genuine struggle to score in open play this campaign.

At the same time City have experienced the biggest increase, with all but one of the 23 they've scored so far originating in open-play.

Set-Piece Success

We've compared clubs that came up with those that were relegated they replaced. Play-off champions the Black Cats have recorded three extra goals in open play than the Saints managed in their first 11 games on their way to demotion the previous campaign.

When it comes to goals scored from set-pieces (excluding penalties), the Gunners and the Blues have experienced the biggest increase, with both sides replacing the five fewer scores that they've netted in open play with the same number from set-pieces.

Manchester United have scored twice as many scores from set-plays as they achieved in matchday 11 the previous campaign before their coach took over, while the Black Cats additionally prove better at scoring than the club they replaced they replaced.

Manchester City appear not to have received the memo about netting additional goals from set-pieces, since they've scored three less than the previous campaign, like Forest, although this could be because of the altered approach they've attempted to adopt.

General Tendencies

Six teams – Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, the Magpies, Spurs and the Hammers – have been the current campaign's leading trend-followers by netting less goals from open-play and more from set-pieces, while Man City stand as the unique club to defy the pattern up to now by achieving the contrary.

It remains to be seen to watch if clubs persist to depend greatly on set-pieces as matches continue or if they regain their overall inventiveness and start netting more goals in open-play as well.