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One of the biggest stories of the EPL season so far concerns the drop of scoring in open play and the way teams have been scoring more from set-pieces instead.

Comparing how goals have been scored to the first 11 games the prior season, we see a drop of 39 goals in open-play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, leading to 13 less altogether.

Examining the broader view, shot attempts clubs are making reveal an incredible 370 fewer in open play than this time last time out.

And despite the big increase in set-play finishes, records show just two more attempts created from them outside of penalties, demonstrating the proficiency sides are at discovering methods to convert from dead-ball chances.

Goal Statistics Reveal a Story

301 total goals scored in 110 matches up to now calculates at 2.74 goals per fixture, which if it continued for the entire campaign would be the lowest for five years, from five seasons ago (2.69 per game).

But just 196 scores scored in open play equates to 1.78 each match and is heading to be the lowest for 16 years, since 2009-10 (1.76).

The 2009-10 season is also the only Premier League campaign to experience scoring at a higher rate from non-penalty set-pieces than the current rate of 0.77 per fixture (0.79 average).

Which Sides Are Most Responsible?

When it comes to scoring from open play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have experienced the largest drop, scoring only four in 11 games, 10 fewer than this point last season.

Apart from Wolverhampton, the EPL's fall in open play goals is largely a London thing, with half of the capital's seven sides netting a minimum of five less scores from open play than the previous year.

To be fair, this is mainly because them netting many goals at the beginning of the previous campaign rather than them having difficulty to convert in open-play the current term.

Meanwhile City have recorded the biggest increase, with all but one of their 23 scores this season coming in open play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

Comparing the promoted teams with the teams that went down that they superseded. Play-off champions Sunderland have recorded three more scores in open-play than the Saints did in their first 11 games on their way to the drop the previous campaign.

Regarding scoring from dead-ball situations (aside from penalties), Arsenal and the Blues have seen the most significant jump, with each team replacing the reduction of five scores that they've netted in open play with identical figures from set-pieces.

United have scored two times more goals from set-plays as they managed in the first 11 matches last season prior to Ruben Amorim took charge, while Sunderland again are more effective at scoring than the club they replaced that went down.

Manchester City appear not to have received the trend about increasing scoring from set-pieces, since they've recorded three less than the previous campaign, like Forest, although this could be because of the tactical shift they've attempted to adopt.

General Tendencies

Six clubs – the Gunners, the Blues, the Cottagers, the Magpies, Tottenham and the Hammers – have been this season's primary examples by netting less scores from open-play and additional from set-pieces, while Man City stand as the unique club to buck the trend up to now by performing the contrary.

It will be interesting to see if sides persist to place such emphasis on set-plays as the campaign progresses or if they rediscover their all-round creativity and commence converting additional scores in open-play as well.