Are You Not Being Entertained? The Drop of the Goals from Open Play
A major talking point of England's top flight this campaign has been the decline of goals scored in open-play scenarios and how teams are finding goals increasingly from set-plays instead.
When we compare goal sources to the initial 11 matches last season, we see a drop of 39 scored in open play and 26 more from set-plays and spot-kicks, resulting in 13 fewer in total.
Examining the bigger picture, shot attempts sides are producing have seen a staggering 370 fewer in open play than this time last season.
Even with the big increase in dead-ball scores, we've actually seen only two additional attempts produced from them outside of spot-kicks, indicating the efficiency teams are at devising strategies to net from set-pieces.
Goal Averages Tell the Tale
Over 300 goals scored in 110 matches to date works out at 2.74 scores each match, if this persists for all 38 games would be the lowest for five years, from five seasons ago (2.69).
Yet merely 196 goals coming in open-play averages out 1.78 each match and is heading to be the lowest for since 2009-10, back in 2009-10 (1.76 per game).
The 2009-10 season is also the sole English top-flight season to experience goals scored at a higher rate from dead-balls without spot-kicks than the current rate of 0.77 per game (0.79 per game).
Which Teams Account for This Change?
When it comes to scoring from open play, Wolverhampton Wanderers have recorded the largest decrease, scoring just four in their first 11 fixtures, 10 fewer than this point last season.
Excluding Wolves, the Premier League's fall in goals from open play is predominantly a trend among London clubs, with five out of the London's seven clubs scoring a minimum of five less scores from open-play than the previous year.
Honestly, this is primarily due to them netting numerous scores at the beginning of the previous campaign as opposed to their genuine struggle to score in open-play this campaign.
Conversely Man City have recorded the biggest increase, with nearly all of their 23 scores so far arriving in open-play.
Set-Play Proficiency
Comparing newly promoted sides with the relegated sides they replaced. Play-off winners the Black Cats have recorded an additional three goals in open play than the Saints managed in their first 11 games leading to relegation the previous campaign.
When it comes to goals scored from dead-ball situations (excluding penalties), the Gunners and the Blues have recorded the most significant jump, with the two clubs compensating for the reduction of five goals that they've netted in open-play with an equal amount from dead-ball situations.
Man United have scored double the number scores from set-pieces as they achieved in the 11 games the previous campaign prior to Ruben Amorim took over, while the Black Cats again are better at converting than the club they replaced they superseded.
City don't seem to have got the trend about scoring more from set-plays, because they've netted three less than last season, like Nottingham Forest, although that might be down to the change in style they have tried to implement.
League-Wide Trends
Six sides – the Gunners, Chelsea, Fulham, Newcastle, Spurs and West Ham – have been the current campaign's top trend-setters by netting less goals from open-play and more from set-plays, while Man City are the sole team to go against the grain so far by performing the complete reverse.
It will be interesting to see if sides continue to rely so heavily on set-plays as the season goes on or if they regain their overall inventiveness and commence converting more goals in open play also.