Although Keith Andrews’ opening game as Brentford boss ended in a humbling defeat to Forest, there was some promise from his side’s attack from set pieces as was expected given his previous role in charge of them at the club. Sepp van den Berg had 2 shots at goal to continue his form from last season, where he had 0.7 shots per 90. With Bees a threat from corners and Kayode’s long throw, van den Berg should always be getting chances to shoot.

Villa were alarmingly open in their first game of the season against Newcastle, giving up 16 shots, 3 of which came from centre back Fabian Schar. Whilst they’ve been consistently solid when defending dead-ball situations under Unai Emery, Ezri Konsa’s suspension will leave them light on height at the back and with Brentford so well prepared for set plays, they can take advantage.

Speaking of teams who looked strong from set pieces, Sunderland’s 3-0 thrashing of West Ham saw Dan Ballard have 4 shots at goal, all coming from set pieces and the final of those finding the back of the net. The strong centre back has always been a threat from set plays, with 6 goals for Sunderland in his last 2 seasons in the Championship, and his average of 1.12 shots per 90 last season emphasises how often they target him from restarts. 

Burnley had a much tougher time of things on opening day, going down 3-0 at Spurs, where they allowed their opponents to create 0.67 expected goals from set pieces. Belgian defender Micky van de Ven, who is not known for his attacking exploits, was afforded 2 chances from corners within the 6-yard box, and you can bet that Ballard will have seen that footage and will be eyeing back-to-back goals to start his Premier League career.

Our final effort at centre back shots comes from a regular of the genre in Norwich’s Harry Darling whose 26 career goals tell you all you need to know about his threat. 5 shots in 2 Championship games for his new club suggest that he’s linking up well with boss Liam Manning again for whom he scored 10 goals for MK Dons in 2021/2022. 

Middlesbrough are one of only 3 second-tier sides to start with maximum points after 2 matches; however, their performances have left a little to be desired. When Manning faced them last season as Bristol City boss, he did the double over Boro, and with the weapon of Darling in his arsenal, he’ll fancy upsetting them again.

After a successful spell on loan at Sheffield Wednesday last season, Shea Charles has found a starting place in Southampton’s midfield and has started positively with 3 shots in games against both Wrexham and Ipswich. Deployed in a holding role, Charles has had 2 efforts from range and also looked dangerous from set pieces, from which he’s had another 2 attempts. 

Stoke are another side who have started excellently, but they did allow Sheffield Wednesday 15 shots last week, which suggests that a Saints side who’ve plundered 38 shots in 2 games should get chances to pull the trigger. In that game, Wednesday’s midfield trio had 4 shots between them, and with Charles enjoying his new role, he’s a lovely price to do similar.

One of the standout players in the division so far has been Baggies’ attacking midfielder Isaac Price, who tops the goalscoring charts with 3 goals and has had 7 shots and a further 4 in the EFL Cup. He’s mentioned the attacking freedom he’s been given by Ryan Mason and should be full of confidence, and so we can expect him to continue his form of 2.69 shots on target per 90 from the first 2 gameweeks. 

Portsmouth have allowed the 4th most shots of any Championship side so far, and struggled in this fixture last season, where they were beaten 3-0 and allowed West Brom 7 shots on target. That was then followed up by a 5-1 defeat in the reverse fixture, where they conceded a massive 11 shots on target, and so it’s safe to assume John Mousinho’s side will not be relishing the visit of Ryan Mason’s men.