The only thing predictable about this season's English Premier League has been its unpredictability.
True to the script yet again, upsets galore were the order of the day, as Manchester United and Chelsea fell in their respective games to Newcastle and Stoke, while Manchester City could only manage a point at Southampton.
Stoke pulled off a brilliant come-from-behind 3-2 victory with Ousama Assaidi scoring the winner right at the end, as Yohan Cabaye landed yet another body blow to David Moyes and United, scoring the winner for Newcastle at Old Trafford.
Manchester City could not capitalise either, as Southampton ended their three-game losing streak taking a point in the game at St Mary's, while Luis Suarez scored again for Liverpool in a 4-1 victory against West Ham.
The results mean, Liverpool pull to within four points of Arsenal, while Chelsea stay four adrift, with City a further point behind. But with the North London side having a game in hand, which they will hope to put to use against Everton at the Emirates on Sunday, Arsene Wenger's men could conceivably go seven points clear at the top.
Manchester United could see the gap to the top increased to an unbelievable 15 points if Arsenal beat Everton on Sunday night.
At the Britannia Stadium, Chelsea got off to a quick start, with Andre Schurrle giving the Blues the lead. The German international received the ball outside the box, gave Ryan Shawcross the run-around, turning him inside out, before striking a low shot into the bottom corner past Asmir Begovic.
Chelsea should have put daylight and then some between Stoke and themselves, but after failing to take several opportunities, the London side were made to pay before the break.
Peter Crouch latched onto a corner from the left, before stabbing home past Petr Cech, who was caught out of position.
Five minutes into the second half and Stoke were leading. Jonathan Walters broke down the right, before squaring the ball to Stephen Ireland to slot home with aplomb from 18 yards.
Schurrle had given the lead for Chelsea with a pure long-range strike, and he equalised for his side with an even better one, catching a shot on the half-volley after the ball came out to him on the edge of the box off a freekick.
Stoke won the game in the 90th minute via a goal worthy of the three points. Substitute Ousama Assaidi received the ball on the left, cut onto his right foot and smashed an unstoppable shot past Cech to rock the Britannia foundations.
At St Mary's, Manchester City found the first goal early like Chelsea, and no surprises for guessing it came off the boot of a certain Argentine in prime form.
Aleksandr Kolarov found a nice cross from the left for Aguero to sweep home with precision in just the tenth minute.
The Saints, desperate to quell a three-game losing run in the Premier League, got on level terms courtesy a peach of a goal form their Italian international Dani Oslvaldo, who left Vincent Kompany for dead before placing a wonderful shot into the top corner.
Try as they might, neither side could find the winner as City were left to wonder yet again on dropped points away from home.
At Anfield, in a game of own goals, Luis Suarez did not open the scoring, but the Uruguayan played a major role in the Reds' opening goal. Suarez took a shot which bounced off West Ham goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen before rebounding off Guy Demel who could do nothing to stop the ball from nestling into his own net just before halftime.
Liverpool seemed to score the let's-take-the-three-points-and-leave goal two minutes into the second half, when Mamadou Sakho turned in a Steven Gerrard freekick, but West Ham made a game of it courtesy an own goal from Martin Skrtel.
Demel whipped in a cross to the far post, which Jarvis played back into the danger area for Skrtel to turn into his own net for the second time in the space of a week.
However, when you have a player like Suarez in your side, it is only a matter of time before that phenom finds the net, and find the target he did on 81 minutes heading in a cross from Glen Johnson.
It was let's-definitely-go-home time on 84 minutes as the game produced its third own goal, with Joey O'Brien this time the unlucky recipient of the unwanted honour.
In the early game, Manchester United and David Moyes' woes just would not stop as Yohan Cabaye struck the only goal of the game just past the hour mark, sweeping home off a cross from Moussa Sissoko, to give Newcastle a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.
Results: Sunderland 1-2 Tottenham; Stoke 3-2 Chelsea; Southampton 1-1 Manchester City; West Brom 0-2 Norwich; Crystal Palace 2-0 Cardiff; Liverpool 4-1 West Ham; Manchester United 0-1 Newcastle.
