Where Has the Excitement Gone? This Drop of the Goal Scoring
One of the biggest stories of England's top flight this campaign has been the reduction of goals scored in open play and how clubs are finding goals more from set-pieces instead.
When we compare goal sources to the initial 11 matches the prior season, we see a drop of 39 goals in open play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and penalties, giving us 13 fewer overall.
Examining overall statistics, the number of shots teams are taking show a staggering drop of 370 in open play than at this stage last time out.
Regardless of the notable jump in set-piece goals, we've actually seen just two more shots produced from these situations excluding penalties, showing the efficiency clubs are at discovering methods to score from dead-ball situations.
Goal Averages Tell the Tale
The 301 goals recorded in 110 matches to date works out at 2.74 scores per game, if this persists for the entire campaign could be the smallest for half a decade, back in 2020-21 (2.69).
However, only 196 scores scored in open play translates to 1.78 per fixture and is on course to be the smallest for 16 seasons, from 16 years ago (1.76).
2009-10 also marks the only Premier League season to experience goals scored more frequently from set-plays excluding penalties than this season's rate of 0.77 per game (0.79 per game).
Which Teams Account for This Change?
Regarding goals scored from open-play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have experienced the most significant drop, netting a mere four in 11 matches, 10 fewer than this point the previous campaign.
Outside of Wolverhampton, the EPL's fall in goals from open play is largely a London phenomenon, with five of the city's seven teams netting at least five fewer goals from open play than the prior season.
In fairness, that's largely down to their scoring many scores at the early stages of the previous campaign as opposed to their genuine struggle to score in open-play this season.
Meanwhile Manchester City have recorded the largest rise, with all but one of their 23 goals to date coming in open-play.
Set-Play Proficiency
We've compared the promoted teams with those that were relegated they replaced. Play-off winners Sunderland have netted three more scores in open-play than the Saints managed in their first 11 games on their way to demotion the previous campaign.
When it comes to scoring from set-pieces (aside from spot-kicks), Arsenal and Chelsea have recorded the most significant jump, with the two clubs compensating for the five less scores that they've produced in open play with an equal amount from dead-ball chances.
Man United have scored double the number goals from set-pieces as they managed in the first 11 matches last season prior to Ruben Amorim assumed control, while the Black Cats additionally are more effective at netting than the club they replaced that went down.
City don't seem to have got the memo about increasing scoring from set-plays, since they've recorded three less than the previous campaign, like Forest, though this could be because of the change in style they've attempted to adopt.
League-Wide Trends
Six clubs – the Gunners, Chelsea, the Cottagers, Newcastle, Spurs and the Hammers – are this season's primary examples by scoring fewer scores from open play and increased from set-pieces, while Man City are the unique club to go against the grain up to now by performing the exact opposite.
It will be interesting to observe if sides continue to rely so heavily on set-plays as the campaign progresses or if they regain their all-round creativity and begin converting increased totals in open play as well.