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One of the biggest stories of England's top flight season so far has been the drop of goals scored in open play and how sides are netting increasingly from set-pieces instead.

Looking at goal sources to the first 11 games last season, there have been a drop of 39 goals in open play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and penalties, resulting in 13 less in total.

If we look at overall statistics, efforts on goal clubs are making reveal a staggering 370 fewer in open-play than this time last time out.

And despite the big increase in dead-ball scores, there have actually been only two additional attempts produced from these situations outside of spot-kicks, demonstrating the proficiency clubs have been at discovering methods to score from dead-ball chances.

Scoring Rates Tell a Story

The 301 goals scored in 110 games to date works out at 2.74 scores each match, if maintained for the entire campaign could be the smallest for five years, back in 2020-21 (2.69 average).

Yet merely 196 scores coming in open-play equates to 1.78 each match and is tracking to be the smallest for 16 seasons, back in 2009-10 (1.76).

The 2009-10 season also marks the unique EPL campaign to experience scoring at a higher rate from set-plays excluding penalties than the current rate of 0.77 per fixture (0.79).

Which Sides Account for This Change?

In terms of scoring from open-play, Wolves have seen the largest decline, registering just four in 11 games, 10 less than at this stage the previous campaign.

Excluding Wolves, England's top division's decline in goals from open play is very much a trend among London clubs, with five out of the London's seven clubs scoring at least five goals fewer from open play than the previous year.

Honestly, this is primarily due to them netting lots of goals at the start of last season rather than them having difficulty to convert in open-play the current term.

Meanwhile Manchester City have recorded the biggest increase, with nearly all of their 23 goals this season originating in open play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

Looking at clubs that came up with the teams that went down that they superseded. Play-off winners Sunderland have recorded an additional three goals in open-play than Southampton achieved in their opening 11 matches on their way to demotion last season.

Regarding goals scored from set-pieces (not counting spot-kicks), Arsenal and Chelsea have recorded the largest rise, with the two clubs making up for the five fewer goals that they've scored in open-play with identical figures from dead-ball situations.

Manchester United have scored double the number goals from set-pieces as they managed in matchday 11 the previous campaign prior to their coach took charge, while the Black Cats additionally prove better at scoring than the similar-colored team that went down.

City don't seem to have got the trend about netting additional goals from set-plays, since they've recorded three fewer than last season, as have Forest, even if that might be down to the tactical shift they have tried to implement.

Overall Patterns

Six clubs – Arsenal, the Blues, the Cottagers, the Magpies, Spurs and the Hammers – have been this term's primary examples by scoring fewer goals from open-play and additional from set-plays, while City stand as the only side to buck the trend so far by doing the exact opposite.

It remains to be seen to watch if clubs continue to rely so heavily on set-plays as matches continue or if they rediscover their general attacking flair and start scoring additional scores in open play too.