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A key narrative of England's top flight season so far concerns the drop of goals scored in open-play scenarios and how sides are netting more from set-plays instead.

Comparing how goals have been scored to matchday 11 the prior season, there have been 39 fewer goals in open play and an increase of 26 from team set-pieces and spot-kicks, resulting in 13 fewer overall.

Considering the bigger picture, efforts on goal sides are producing have seen a staggering 370 fewer in open-play than at this stage previously.

Regardless of the significant rise in set-play finishes, records show just two more attempts produced from them outside of spot-kicks, demonstrating the proficiency teams have been at finding ways to net from dead-ball situations.

Goal Averages Show the Tale

301 total goals recorded in 110 matches to date works out at nearly 2.75 goals per fixture, if this persists for the entire campaign might be the lowest for half a decade, from five seasons ago (2.69 average).

However, only under 200 goals coming in open-play averages out 1.78 per game and is on course to be the least for since 2009-10, from 16 years ago (1.76 average).

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

Which Sides Bear the Most Responsibility?

When it comes to goals scored from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have experienced by far the biggest decrease, netting a mere four in their first 11 fixtures, 10 less than at this stage last season.

Outside of Wolverhampton, the EPL's decline in open-play scoring is predominantly a London phenomenon, with five out of the capital's seven sides scoring at least five less scores from open play than last season.

In fairness, that's largely down to them netting lots of scores at the start of last season rather than them having difficulty to score in open-play the current term.

Meanwhile Man City have recorded the biggest increase, with all but one of their 23 scores to date arriving in open-play.

Set-Piece Success

We've compared newly promoted sides with the teams that went down they replaced. Sunderland Sunderland have recorded three extra goals in open-play than Southampton did in their opening 11 matches en route to the drop last season.

When it comes to scoring from dead-ball situations (excluding penalties), Arsenal and the Blues have experienced the most significant jump, with each team making up for the five less goals that they've netted in open-play with identical figures from set-pieces.

United have recorded two times more scores from set-pieces as they managed in the 11 games the previous campaign prior to Ruben Amorim took charge, while Sunderland additionally are more successful at netting than the fellow red-and-whites that went down.

City appear not to have received the memo about scoring more from set-pieces, because they've scored three less than the previous campaign, similar to Forest, although that might be down to the tactical shift they're working to install.

Overall Patterns

Six teams – Arsenal, Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle, Spurs and West Ham – have been this term's leading trend-followers by recording fewer goals from open play and increased from set-pieces, while Manchester City represent the only side to defy the pattern up to now by doing the contrary.

It will be interesting to see if clubs continue to rely so heavily on set-pieces as matches continue or if they find again their overall inventiveness and begin scoring additional scores in open play also.