With much talk around set plays in the opening two months of the season, we thought we’d ask the question: are set-piece takers – and those on the end of dead-ball deliveries – more important than ever?

• READ MORE: Every FPL set-piece and penalty taker – updated

THE LAST DECADE

As we can see in the table below, the number of set-piece goals per Premier League season has flitted around the 200-250 range throughout the last 10 full campaigns, with the highest number of them (255) coming back in 2016/17 and the lowest (197) coinciding with a bit of an overall dip in goals during 2020/21.

Looking at these set-piece goals as a percentage of the total goals in each Premier League season, meanwhile, we can see that we’ve hovered around 20-21% for the majority of the past few years, which is actually a little lower than some of the seasons in the first half of the last decade.

So far this year, however, there has been a spike.

MORE RECENTLY…

* as of Gameweek 7

As mentioned, we’ve seen a spike in the proportion of total goals coming from set-pieces in the Premier League this season, with that rate currently at 28%. 

This may even itself out back to around the decade average by next May, but it’s a trend that’s worth talking about – especially given the proliferation of set-piece specialists in backrooms across the country.

By the end of Gameweek 7, Man City remained the only Premier League team yet to score from a set-piece (including penalties) – an impressive feat, given they have scored the most total league goals (15) so far!

At the other end of the table is… you guessed it:

ARSENAL

In Mikel Arteta’s first full season (2020/21) in charge at the Emirates, Arsenal scored only six of their 55 total league goals from set-pieces – that was among the lowest tallies in the league.

Fast forward one year to 2021/22, when much-discussed set-piece coach Nicolas Jover was hired in pre-season, and that jumped considerably up to 16 goals from set-plays – the joint third-most, with Brentford and behind City and Liverpool – out of 61 total Premier League goals, despite the Gunners finishing fifth in the table.

They had the third-highest tally (15) again in 2022/23, albeit as a lower proportion of their 88 total league goals, and in 2023/24 equalled the decade-high 22 set-piece goals – a mark also achieved by Chelsea (2016/17), Liverpool (2018/19) and City (2021/22) – before topping the charts again last season.

And seven matches into the current Premier League campaign, the Gunners have scored half of their 14 league goals from set pieces (see image below); their seven successful conversions are, predictably, the most in the division at this point, while they also top the leaderboard for attempts from set plays (42).

With the likes of Declan Rice (£6.5m) and Bukayo Saka (£9.9m) swinging in deliveries for aerial threats, including Gabriel Magalhaes (£6.3m) and Jurrien Timber (£5.9m), we don’t expect set-pieces to stop being Arsenal’s bread and butter any time soon. 

Still, there will be hope among fans – and his FPL owners – that Viktor Gyokeres (£9.1m) can start converting some more chances from open play, too, or else what is considered a strength by many risks becoming an overreliance that continually hinders their attempts at securing silverware.

CHELSEA

Chelsea didn’t rank too highly when it came to goals from set-pieces last season, scoring a respectable 12 times from dead-ball situations out of 64 total league goals.

This season, however, five of their 13 league goals have already come from set-plays, highlighting the impact that ex-Brentford specialist Bernardo Cueva has had since joining Enzo Maresca’s coaching staff.

Corners seem to be a particular strong point, with a resurgent Reece James (£5.4m) dominating those when fit, while Pedro Neto (£7.0m) and Enzo Fernandez (£6.7m) have deputised. 35 attempts from set-pieces show this is likely more strategy than fluke, too. 

Joao Pedro (£7.7m) – one of two Blues players to have scored twice from set-pieces, alongside Trevoh Chalobah (£5.1m) – has been one of the targets in the box, and could end his recent run of blanks with a kind stretch of fixtures coming up.

CRYSTAL PALACE

A deserved word on Palace, now, as Glasner’s men scored a third of their total Premier League goals from set-pieces last season (17/51) – only one team could beat that – and also topped the league for total attempts from set-pieces, with their 173 efforts being 20 more than even Arsenal’s!

They may have lost Eberechi Eze (£7.6m) and his deliveries this summer, but that hasn’t changed Glasner’s approach. Instead, we’ve seen the likes of Daichi Kamada (£5.0m) and Adam Wharton (£5.0m) stepping up, and the Eagles consequently sit joint third this term for set-piece goals scored, with four, as well as top for expected goals (xG) from set-plays (4.96). 

Ismaila Sarr (£6.5m) has two goals from set-pieces in five appearances, and Palace’s takers have Jean-Philippe Mateta (£7.5m), Maxence Lacroix (£5.1m), Marc Guehi (£4.9m), Daniel Munoz (£5.6m) and more to aim for, too.

MANCHESTER UNITED

We needn’t say much about United’s ongoing struggles overall, but the Red Devils have actually – to their credit – matched Palace’s scoring record so far, with nine goals in total and four from set-plays. 

One of those was Benjamin Sesko’s (£7.3m) first at Old Trafford, which arrived last time out from a Diogo Dalot (£4.4m) long throw – a tactic making an undeniable comeback in England’s top-flight this season – that opponents Sunderland failed to clear.

Elsewhere, Bruno Fernandes (£9.0m) has kept hold (we think) of penalty-taking duties despite a few recent misses but has begun sharing corners and indirect free-kicks with Bryan Mbeumo (£8.1m). They’re both adept at pinging in crosses from those situations, and Ruben Amorim could view that duo’s pinpoint deliveries plus a few more long throw-ins as a way to trouble Liverpool during their Anfield showdown this weekend. 

Leny Yoro (£4.5m) was targeted a few times against the Black Cats, Matthijs de Ligt (£5.0m) and Casemiro (£5.5m) also bring a decent aerial presence and we know Harry Maguire (£4.4m) can header a ball. Overall, United actually have the third-best xG from set plays this season (3.76), behind Palace and Arsenal.

EVERTON

They’ve only scored twice from set-pieces this season, but Everton’s 38 attempts from dead-ball situations is more than any team except Arsenal.

Last season, meanwhile, their 15 from a total of 42 goals in the league gave the Toffees the Premier League’s highest percentage of set-play goals. The transition from Dyche to Moyes was pretty seamless with respect to their in-game approach to dead-ball activities, and it appears the club’s first dedicated set-piece coach Charlie Adam – appointed by his countryman Moyes in January – is making an impact.

This year, James Garner (£5.0m) and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall (£5.0m) have been the deliverers-in-chief for Everton, commonly looking for the likes of centre-backs Michael Keane (£4.5m) or James Tarkowski (£5.5m). Indeed, it was the Garner-Keane combo that opened the scoring against West Ham in Gameweek 6 following a corner.

BRENTFORD

Being joint-third for Premier League set-piece goals scored in 2021/22, joint-top in 2022/23 and then hitting double-figures (11 and 14) in each of the last two seasons is indicative of Brentford’s years-long love affair with set-pieces under their previous management.

Appointing an in-house set-piece specialist as their new boss suggested a continuation of that game plan was to be expected, but the Bees have only scored once from a dead-ball situation so far this term (out of nine total goals).

That’s not for lack of trying, though, as 27 of their 57 total shots on goal have been from set-pieces; at 47.4%, that’s the highest proportion in the top flight.

Long throw-ins are one method evidently being championed by Andrews, with Michael Kayode (£4.5m) particularly adept at those, while Mikkel Damsgaard (£5.8m) dominates the task of corner-taking as well as most indirect free-kicks.

ASTON VILLA

Emery struggled to get his Villa side going in the first few weeks of the season, but they seem to have turned a corner to win four straight in all competitions heading into the international break.

Only one of their six league goals so far has come from a set-piece, though, and Villa actually have the division’s second-worst xG from set plays (1.38) despite racking up 26 dead-ball attempts. That’s a big drop off compared to last season, when the team scored 16 of their 58 league goals (27.6%) from set plays.

It may not have helped that five different players have taken corners in the last four Gameweeks, although Lucas Digne (£4.5m) and Matty Cash (£4.6m) do appear to be first choice when on the field. Something for set-piece coach Austin MacPhee to focus on when club football resumes, then.

NOTTINGHAM FOREST/WEST HAM UNITED

Forest had a brilliant season in 2024/25 and their dead-ball threat played a big part in that. Towering centre-back Nikola Milenkovic (£5.3m), for example, bagged five Premier League goals by himself, and the Tricky Trees scored 17 in total from set-plays.

They’ve massively underwhelmed across the pitch so far this season, though, and Nuno Espirito Santo has of course now been replaced by an Ange Postecoglou who likes to have possession, build from the back and attack more openly than his predecessor.

Tottenham were far from reliant on set-pieces in their two league seasons under Postecoglou, scoring 11 goals (out of 74 and 64 in total, respectively) from such situations. With pressure mounting on the Aussie head coach amid his winless start to life in the East Midlands, could he abandon his principles and try to win by any means necessary?

He might. Overall, Forest have scored two of their five league goals from set-pieces this season but are rock bottom for set-piece attempts (16). But under Ange, their sole Premier League goal in four games has come following a corner, and 12 of those 16 attempts from set-plays have also arrived since the new boss arrived.

As for Nuno, the Portuguese replaced Graham Potter at the helm of a floundering West Ham group ahead of Gameweek 6. He is also yet to win a match in charge of his new team, and shoring up the Hammers’ defence of set-pieces is a much bigger priority at this stage than implementing attacking strategies from them at the other end of the pitch. 

Still, his side have had eight attempts from set-plays during his two matches in charge despite facing Arsenal in one of those and Ward-Prowse notably playing zero minutes. If the Englishman’s absence continues, Lucas Paqueta (£5.9m) and El Hadji Malick Diouf (£4.4m) will probably continue as the takers of most set pieces.

TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR

Ex-Brentford man Frank took over Postecoglou’s post in north London over the summer, but the Lilywhites haven’t turned to set-pieces too often yet when it comes to their goal threat.

Spurs have scored just two of their 13 Premier League goals from set-plays this term, and are in the bottom half for shots from set-pieces (24). That ratio may not be the case forever, particularly given they have some capable takers in their ranks with Mohammed Kudus (£6.8m), Xavi Simons (£7.0m) and Pedro Porro (£5.6m) and a head coach who has proven himself to be an avid set-piece user in the past. 

But for now, at least, Frank’s men largely haven’t been struggling to create chances or score them from open play…

FULHAM

… but one team that has been is Fulham.

The Cottagers have scored three goals from set-pieces and only found the net on five other occasions so far this season. That includes two own goals that have been scored in their favour.

Bottom-third totals of 22 attempts from set-pieces and 73 total shots suggest the Cottagers are simply struggling in front of goal at the moment, so Silva may become increasingly reliant on dead-ball deliveries from Sasa Lukic (£5.0m) and Harry Wilson (£5.3m) unless – or until – something changes in that regard.

The injured Rodrigo Muniz (£5.4m) is their leader for shots from set-plays, with four, followed by Alex Iwobi (£6.5m) on three.

NEWCASTLE UNITED

In Eddie Howe’s first full season (2022/23), 12 of the Magpies’ 68 Premier League goals came from set-plays – nothing extraordinary, but not notably low either. That jumped up to 16 out of 85 league goals during the high-scoring 2023/24 campaign, but fell again to 13/68 last season.

Much was made of how the Toon would cope following the loss of their star striker this summer, and they’ve answered those questions most resoundingly with a resolute defensive line that has kept a league-high five clean sheets in seven games. 

And while they’ve struggled a little for goals, scoring just six times in the league, three of those successful efforts have come from set-pieces. 

Nick Woltemade (£7.1m) is one big frame that Kieran Trippier (£5.0m) and Sandro Tonalo (£5.4m) – who has had five attempts of his own from set plays – can aim for, and the same can be said for defenders like Dan Burn (£5.1m) and Malick Thiaw (£4.9m); the latter, for example, has fired off four attempts from set-pieces in just four appearances.

MANCHESTER CITY/LIVERPOOL

Liverpool have scored just one of their 13 Premier League goals so far from a set-piece, and – as mentioned – City have scored all 15 of their league goals from open play.

Both clubs are bucking their own trends of the last decade in that regard, with the change perhaps more noteworthy when it comes to the Sky Blues, given Guardiola has been in his post throughout that time.

As for Arne Slot, his Reds won the league last year despite scoring only 10 of their 86 league goals from set-plays. Measured against that context rather than the Klopp years, this season’s current stat seems a little less out of place.

Even when it comes to attempts from set-pieces, both teams are in the league’s bottom four: Liverpool’s 21 ranks them fourth from bottom, while City’s 17 is fewer than winless Wolves (20) and above only Forest’s measly total.

WHAT ABOUT THE OTHERS?

In a similar situation to Newcastle is Leeds, with Daniel Farke’s squad having scored three of their seven Premier League goals this term from set-plays. 

The Whites have had 28 attempts from set-pieces, and former Magpie Sean Longstaff (£4.9m) has emerged as the team’s dominant creative force from those situations ahead of Gabriel Gudmundsson (£4.0m) and Anton Stach (£5.0m).

Fellow promoted sides Sunderland and Burnley have each scored seven goals in total, with two of them coming from set-pieces. The Black Cats have had more attempts from set-plays than the Clarets, with 31 to 26.

Bournemouth have gotten off to a flying start to the season, thanks in no small part to the efforts of Antoine Semenyo (£7.9m). 

The Cherries have shared their set-piece duties pretty widely in the last few Gameweeks, but David Brooks (£5.0m) stands out as having had seven shots from set-pieces this season – more than any player except Everton’s Garner (eight).

Overall, Bournemouth have scored 11 league goals, but only two of those have come from set-plays. Their proportion of shots from set-plays is just over a third (31/91), though, suggesting more goals could be coming.

With only 21 attempts from set plays and 82 shots overall, scoring from dead-ball situations appears to be a smaller part of Hurzeler’s game plan for Brighton so far this season compared to last term; that, or they’ve just been less clinical recently.

The Seagulls have scored 10 Premier League goals so far in 2025/26, with two penalties. Yasin Ayari (£4.9m) and Yankuba Minteh (£6.0m) have taken the most corners recently, but set-piece duties have otherwise been shared relatively evenly.

The Premier League’s joint-lowest scorers alongside Forest, Wolves have scored twice from set-plays.

WHAT ABOUT ‘TIME IN PLAY’?

A final talking point from me today comes in the form of ‘time in play’ stats, as Opta has looked at just how long the football has actually been in play, on average, per game this season.

The data, albeit from only seven Gameweeks (70 matches), revealed that we’ve seen an average ball-in-play, or time in play, of exactly 55 minutes per match so far in 2025/26.

That’s almost two whole minutes less than last season’s average of 56 mins 59 secs, and more than three minutes fewer than the 2023/24 average, which was 58 mins 11 secs. 

In terms of overall ball-in-play time across full seasons since 2010/11, the per-match average has only been lower than 55 minutes twice: in 2021/22 (54 mins 45 secs) and 2022/23 (54 mins 49 secs).

However, those two seasons pre-date the lengthier stoppage time that was introduced at the start of 2023/24 – meaning 2025/26 stands out even more so far. 

One explanation for this is the uptick in set-pieces; a ball technically isn’t ‘in play’ until said set-piece is taken, after all, meaning lots of that ‘out-of-play’ time will come from the delay time between a ball going out and play resuming for corners, free kicks, throw-ins and penalties (as well as goal kicks, kick-offs and drop balls, of course).

Again, credit to Opta for the below research:

IS THIS AFFECTING CLEAN SHEETS?

Could all of this dead time, and less total time with the ball in play, be having a positive impact on clean sheet chances?

There appears to be a link in Newcastle’s case, given the Magpies have seen the ball in play during their games for the lowest proportion of total match time, at an average of 53 mins 9 secs (52.3%). Howe’s men have also registered five shut-outs, the most of any Premier League side.

It’s by no means an exact science, and that could just be a coincidence as their opponents each week are also involved when it comes to keeping the ball in play. Still, it’s something to consider as we plough forward into a new realm of FPL where cheaper defenders suddenly become more appealing as defensive contributions (DefCons) reign supreme.

In total we’ve had 39 clean sheets across 70 Premier League matches so far this season, compared to 178 and 157 across the last two 380-game campaigns. At this point in both 2024/25 we had 30.

A slightly higher rate of clean sheets at the moment, then, coinciding with a few minutes less of the ball being in play – but still a long way to go this season before we can draw any definitive conclusions!