A major talking point of the EPL this campaign concerns the reduction of scoring in open-play scenarios and the way clubs are finding goals increasingly from dead-ball situations instead.
When we compare how goals have been scored to matchday 11 the prior season, we see a drop of 39 scored in open-play and an increase of 26 from set-plays and spot-kicks, giving us 13 less altogether.
If we look at the broader view, efforts on goal teams are taking show a staggering drop of 370 in open-play than at this stage last time out.
And despite the big increase in dead-ball scores, records show just two more shots produced from these situations excluding penalties, showing the proficiency clubs are at finding ways to net from set-pieces.
Over 300 goals notched in the first 110 fixtures so far averages out at 2.74 goals per fixture, if maintained for the whole season could be the smallest for five years, from five seasons ago (2.69 per game).
However, only under 200 goals scored in open-play translates to 1.78 each match and is tracking to be the smallest for 16 years, from 16 years ago (1.76).
2009-10 is also the unique EPL campaign to see scoring more often from non-penalty set-pieces than this season's rate of 0.77 per fixture (0.79).
When it comes to scoring from open play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have experienced the most significant decrease, scoring only four in 11 games, a reduction of 10 than this point the previous campaign.
Apart from Wolverhampton, England's top division's drop in open-play scoring is predominantly a trend among London clubs, with half of the London's seven clubs netting five or more fewer goals from open-play than the previous year.
Honestly, this is primarily due to their scoring lots of goals at the early stages of the previous campaign as opposed to them having difficulty to convert in open-play the current term.
At the same time Manchester City have recorded the largest rise, with almost every one of the 23 they've scored this season originating in open-play.
Comparing clubs that came up with the teams that went down they replaced. Play-off champions the Black Cats have scored three more goals in open play than the Saints achieved in their first 11 games leading to the drop the previous campaign.
When it comes to goals scored from set-pieces (aside from spot-kicks), Arsenal and Chelsea have experienced the largest rise, with each team replacing the five fewer goals that they've produced in open play with an equal amount from dead-ball chances.
Manchester United have recorded twice as many goals from set-pieces as they managed in the 11 games the previous campaign prior to Ruben Amorim took charge, while the Black Cats additionally have been better at netting than the fellow red-and-whites that went down.
Man City don't seem to have got the trend about scoring more from set-pieces, because they've scored a reduction of three than the previous campaign, as have Nottingham Forest, though that might be down to the altered approach they have tried to implement.
Six sides – the Gunners, the Blues, Fulham, Newcastle, Spurs and the Hammers – are this season's top trend-setters by scoring fewer goals from open-play and additional from set-plays, while Manchester City stand as the sole team to defy the pattern to date by doing the contrary.
It remains to be seen to watch if sides persist to depend greatly on set-pieces as matches continue or if they rediscover their general attacking flair and start converting additional scores in open play also.
