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Of all the unwritten rules of football Stitched Matt Ryan Jersey , one of the most endearing and persistent is the idea that when it comes to local derbies, anything can happen. Form is irrelevant. nagerial prowess, and anything else you might ordinarily consider relevant when thinking about a match. When two teams are located quite close to one another, things get messy.How true is this? Probably not very. But then, that’s not the point: this is an expression not of fact but of hope. Maybe things aren’t this way, but oh, they really should be. It is an idea that appeals to the old roots of football, to a more chaotic time, perhaps all the way back to those pre-modern village-on-village dust-ups. Simultaneously it offers liberation from the iniquities of modern footballing power. Maybe, if we all agree hard enough, the thing that’s obviously going to happen somehow won’t.And as Manchester United’s visit to their nearest and dearest grows nearer, that thought is growing again. What if something weird happens? Maybe even something funny? It is a derby, after all. That lack of travel time plays havoc with reality.If we’re going to talk about something weird Youth Matt Ryan Jersey , then we should probably start by defining what would be not-weird. Which would be a Manchester City victory, probably quite a comfortable one. They’re just better than United: 18 points better last season, after 38 games, and nine points this after just 11. The City Football Group aren’t idiots, after all. When they mask vast expenditure with a series of elaborate shell companies and inflated sponsorship deals, they do it right. Allegedly.Guardiola’s City will probably end up being regarded as one of the best in Premier League history, while Mourinho’s United 鈥?well, they’re not. (You can put a “yet” on the end of that sentence if you’re feeling kind.) The whys and wherefores of that imbalance are to be debated and contested, of course, but they are there, whoever’s fault it is. That’s the baseline. What should happen.And so, to what could happen. Hope for weirdness comes from two places. The first is United’s recent uptick in form: they’ve picked up four wins in six games, including that comeback against Juventus. And the draw at Chelsea was, from a United perspective, broadly promising if specifically irritating. You’d be lying if you said that these performances were convincing. United haven’t kept a clean sheet since the stultifying draw against Valencia Black Jake Matthews Jersey , and this recent run has also included a schooling at Old Trafford by Juve. But on balance, United look like a team with something about them. Some invention. A touch of collective belief. Maybe even the first hints of an actual attacking plan. And those are the kind of things ruinously expensive football teams really should have, so that’s nice.The other hope for weirdness to come is the weirdness we’ve already seen. The Manchester Derby is actually pretty productive when it comes to derby wackiness: a 6-1 here, a 5-0 there, a 5-1 over in that direction. Even Alex Ferguson’s all-conquering sides occasionally fell victim to the mysterious powers of proximity.In 2013/14, City went to Old Trafford and produced perhaps the most one-sided 20 minutes of football that the Premier League has ever seen. As a stunned David Moyes looked on, City scored in the first minute, then could have picked up another ten or so as United’s defence stood around, apparently baffled at the sight of footballers passing to each other. Then moving. At pace.Also, it says here that in April 2015, a Manchester United side managed by Louis van Gaal scored four goals. Doesn’t seem right. Subs please check.Most recently, last season. United went to the Etihad for City’s title coronation, conceded two before half-time, and then 鈥?won. City just 鈥?melted. Weird again. Indeed, precisely the kind of formbook-through-the-window weirdness that derbies are supposed to produce. It didn’t mean anything in the broader scheme of things. It didn’t seem to come from anywhere or go anywhere. It just happened. An isolated and bizarre collection of things Jake Matthews Jersey 2019 , occurring on a football field. That’s what derbies are in the imagination, and that’s what they are, occasionally, in real life. Just often enough to keep the imagined idea alive. And given that the alternative is another comfortable City victory, there are certainly worse things to hope for. Coach Dan Quinn says losing six starters to injured reserve never forced him to lose faith in the Atlanta Falcons, even before three straight wins revived the team's playoff hopes.The Falcons (4-4) have recovered from a 1-4 start despite losing both starting safeties, both first-team offensive guards, running back Devonta Freeman and linebacker Deion Jones.Sunday's 38-14 win at NFC East-leading Washington showed the Falcons, who play at Cleveland this week, are back as a playoff contender.Even after running back Devonta Freeman and right guard Brandon Fusco were the most recent starters to land on IR, Quinn continued to say the Falcons were a team on the rise who had not peaked."All along I've had real belief in what this '18 team can be," Quinn said Monday. "Although it started under some difficult circumstances, I like the way they've supported each other. I like the toughness they've shown and I feel like we're starting to play like we're capable of playing."The Falcons iced the win over the Redskins by holding the ball for 10 minutes in the fourth quarter, when Washington didn't score. Quinn said the "ability to finish" was a highlight of the game.With Ben Garland starting for Fusco and Wes Schweitzer continuing in his fill-in starting role for injured left guard Andy Levitre, the new-look offensive line played one of its best games.The Falcons converted 10 of 13 third-down plays and scored touchdowns on two of three red-zone possessions. Matt Ryan threw for 350 yards with four touchdowns and one interception — only his third of the season and his first since a Week 2 win over Carolina.Ryan said the Falcons have improved since losing four of their first five games."I think halfway through we were a better football team than we were at the start Black Andy Levitre Jersey , and we have to keep it trending in that direction," Ryan said after Sunday's game.Ryan has enjoyed a return to his 2016 form, when he was named the NFL MVP. Led by Ryan, the Falcons have scored touchdowns on 17 of their last 21 red-zone possessions since their opening loss at Philadelphia."I think red zone efficiency has been really good for us," Ryan said. "We didn't do a good job of that in the opener, but since then we've done a pretty good job of that. ... When you're scoring touchdowns and taking care of the ball, that's a good recipe for success."Quinn said seeing Julio Jones finally score his first touchdown of the season "was probably the coolest part of the day" in the win over Washington.Jones' teammates rushed down the sideline to celebrate with him following his 35-yard touchdown pass from Ryan."It was a great experience having the team come out there," Jones said.Quinn said Jones "is the most selfless leader probably that any of us have been around.""They were so excited for him because of all the work he does behind the scenes that people don't know about," Quinn said. "... They know what he stands for as a teammate."Atlanta's daunting injury outlook could be improving.The Falcons already have had defensive tackle Grady Jarrett, who had a sack on Sunday, return after missing two games with an ankle injury.Jones is eligible to come off IR when the Falcons play Dallas on Nov. 18, though there has been no word on when he'll be cleared from his foot injury. It's not known if Freeman will be able to return from his groin injury when eligible in December.Placekicker Matt Bryant has missed two games with a hamstring injury. More will be known on Wednesday about his chances to return against the Browns.