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A major talking point of the EPL season so far is the reduction of goals scored in open play and the way teams are netting increasingly from dead-ball situations instead.

When we compare how goals have been scored to the initial 11 matches the prior season, there have been a drop of 39 goals in open play and an increase of 26 from team set-pieces and spot-kicks, giving us 13 less overall.

If we look at overall statistics, the number of shots clubs are making reveal an incredible drop of 370 in open-play than this time last season.

Even with the big increase in set-play finishes, records show just two more shots produced from them outside of spot-kicks, demonstrating how effective sides have been at devising strategies to score from dead-ball situations.

Goal Averages Tell an Interesting Narrative

Over 300 goals recorded in 110 games so far works out at 2.74 goals per game, if this persists for the entire campaign could be the least for five years, from five seasons ago (2.69 per game).

However, only 196 scores coming in open-play translates 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 additionally represents the unique EPL campaign to see goals scored at a higher rate from non-penalty set-pieces than this campaign's frequency of 0.77 per game (0.79 average).

Which Sides Account for This Change?

In terms of goals scored from open play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have seen the largest decrease, scoring a mere four in 11 matches, 10 fewer than at this stage the previous campaign.

Excluding Wolverhampton, the Premier League's fall in goals from open play is predominantly a London thing, with five out of the city's seven teams netting a minimum of five less scores from open play than the previous year.

In fairness, this is mainly because them netting many scores at the start of last season instead of them having difficulty to find the net in open play this campaign.

Meanwhile Manchester City have seen the most significant jump, with all but one of the 23 they've scored this season originating in open play.

Set-Play Proficiency

Looking at newly promoted sides with the teams that went down that they superseded. Play-off winners Sunderland have scored an additional three goals in open-play than the Saints achieved in their opening 11 matches en route to demotion last season.

In terms of goals scored from set-plays (excluding penalties), the Gunners and the Blues have experienced the largest rise, with both sides compensating for the five fewer goals that they've netted in open play with an equal amount from dead-ball situations.

Man United have scored double the number scores from set-pieces as they managed in the 11 games last season ahead of Ruben Amorim took charge, while Sunderland once more have been better at scoring than the fellow red-and-whites they superseded.

City don't seem to have got the message about increasing scoring from set-plays, because they've scored three less than the previous campaign, as have Nottingham Forest, even if this could be because of the altered approach they have tried to implement.

General Tendencies

Six clubs – the Gunners, Chelsea, the Cottagers, Newcastle, Tottenham and the Hammers – have been the current campaign's primary examples by scoring fewer goals from open-play and additional from set-pieces, while Manchester City stand as the unique club to go against the grain to date by doing the exact opposite.

It will be fascinating to see if clubs persist to rely so heavily on set-pieces as the campaign progresses or if they find again their overall inventiveness and begin netting increased totals in open play too.