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A major talking point of the Premier League this campaign is the drop of goals scored in open-play scenarios and the way teams are netting increasingly from dead-ball situations as an alternative.

Looking at how goals have been scored to the initial 11 matches last season, there have been 39 fewer scored in open play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and spot-kicks, giving us 13 less in total.

Examining the bigger picture, efforts on goal teams are taking show an incredible drop of 370 in open play than this time last time out.

Even with the notable jump in set-piece goals, records show only two additional shots created from these situations excluding penalties, demonstrating how effective teams have been at discovering methods to score from dead-ball chances.

Scoring Rates Tell the Tale

Over 300 goals recorded in the first 110 fixtures to date calculates at 2.74 scores per game, if maintained for the entire campaign might be the lowest for five years, from five seasons ago (2.69 average).

Yet merely under 200 goals scored in open-play averages out 1.78 per fixture and is tracking to be the smallest for 16 years, from 16 years ago (1.76 per game).

The 2009-10 season additionally represents the sole English top-flight season to experience scoring more frequently from set-plays excluding penalties than this season's rate of 0.77 per game (0.79 per game).

What Clubs Bear the Most Responsibility?

When it comes to goals scored from open play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have experienced the most significant decrease, registering just four in 11 games, a reduction of 10 than this point the previous campaign.

Apart from Wolverhampton, the EPL's fall in open play goals is predominantly a trend among London clubs, with five of the city's seven teams recording five or more less scores from open-play than last season.

In fairness, that's largely down to their scoring many scores at the early stages of last season as opposed to them really struggling to find the net in open play this campaign.

Meanwhile Manchester City have recorded the biggest increase, with nearly all of the 23 they've scored so far coming in open-play.

Dead-Ball Dominance

We've compared clubs that came up with those that were relegated they replaced. Play-off champions the Black Cats have netted three more goals in open-play than Southampton achieved in matchday 11 en route to relegation the previous campaign.

When it comes to goals scored from set-pieces (excluding penalties), the Gunners and the Blues have experienced the most significant jump, with both sides replacing the reduction of five scores that they've produced in open play with an equal amount from dead-ball situations.

Manchester United have recorded double the number goals from set-pieces as they did in the 11 games the previous campaign prior to Ruben Amorim took over, while Sunderland once more are more effective at converting than the fellow red-and-whites that went down.

Man City don't seem to have got the trend about scoring more from set-plays, because they've netted three fewer than the previous campaign, like the Reds, although this could be because of the tactical shift they're working to install.

League-Wide Trends

Six clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, the Cottagers, the Magpies, Tottenham and the Hammers – represent this term's leading trend-followers by recording fewer scores from open-play and increased from set-plays, while Man City stand as the unique club to go against the grain to date by achieving the contrary.

It remains to be seen to observe if teams carry on to place such emphasis on set-pieces as the season goes on or if they regain their overall inventiveness and begin netting additional scores in open-play too.