EPL Table: Updated Standings Ahead of Week 19

A slew of matches on Boxing Day altered the Premier League landscape as several surprising results shook up the league table ahead of Week 19.

Defending champions Manchester United needed a furious comeback at Hull City to come away with three points. However, other contending clubs weren't so fortunate, as Everton and Tim Sherwood's Spurs both suffered disappointing results at home, per Premier League on Twitter:

The Toffees, who lost goalkeeper Tim Howard to a red card early on, were dealt an excruciating 1-0 loss to last-place Sunderland at Goodison Park while Spurs played a struggling West Bromwich Albion squad to a 1-1 draw at White Hart Lane. 

With Matchday 18 in the books, let's take a look at where all 20 teams stand heading into this weekend's pivotal action.

Pos.	Team	GP	W	D	L	GD	Pts
1	Arsenal	18	12	3	3	18	39
2	Manchester City	18	12	2	4	32	38
3	Chelsea	18	11	4	3	15	37
4	Liverpool	18	11	3	4	22	36
5	Everton	18	9	7	2	12	34
6	Newcastle	18	10	3	5	6	33
7	Manchester United	18	9	4	5	9	31
8	Tottenham Hotspur	18	9	4	5	-5	31
9	Southampton	18	7	6	5	7	27
10	Stoke City	18	5	6	7	-8	21
11	Swansea City	18	5	5	8	-1	20
12	Hull City	18	5	5	8	-7	20
13	Aston Villa	18	5	4	9	-7	19
14	Norwich City	18	5	4	9	-15	19
15	West Bromwich Albion	18	3	8	7	-5	17
16	Cardiff City	18	4	5	9	-15	17
17	Crystal Palace	18	5	1	12	-15	16
18	Fulham	18	5	1	12	-16	16
19	West Ham United	18	3	5	10	-10	14
20	Sunderland	18	3	4	11	-17	13

Home	Score	Away
Hull City	2-3	Manchester United
Aston Villa	0-1	Crystal Palace
Cardiff City	0-3	Southampton
Chelsea	1-0	Swansea City
Everton	0-1	Sunderland
Newcastle	5-1	Stoke City
Norwich City	1-2	Fulham
Tottenham Hotspur	1-1	West Bromwich Albion
West Ham United	1-3	Arsenal
Manchester City	12:30 p.m. ET, 5:30 p.m. GMT	Liverpool

Week 18 began with a bang as Wayne Rooney and the Red Devils quickly found themselves trailing 2-0 at Hull City. David Moyes' men were ready for the challenge, though, as they were able to equalize in a seven-minute span. A James Chester own goal in the 66th minute would give United the lead, and the Red Devils would hold on despite a late Antonio Valencia red card that saw them play the final moments a man down. 

Rooney was impressed by his side's gutsy effort down the stretch, per Premier League on Twitter: 

Title contenders Arsenal and Chelsea both came away with three points as well in Week 18, beating West Ham United and Swansea City, respectively. Theo Walcott exploded for the Gunners in the second half, scoring two goals in a three-minute span as they erased a one-goal deficit to earn their first league win since Dec. 4.

The Blues only needed one goal from Eden Hazard to top the Swans at Stamford Bridge.  

Elsewhere, Crystal Palace stunned Aston Villa at Villa Park, winning 1-0 on the strength of Dwight Gayle's clutch 90th-minute goal, per Premier League on Twitter:

Meanwhile, Southampton shut down Cardiff City's upset bid, scoring three goals in the first 27 minutes to bury the Bluebirds before halftime. The victory was a much-needed one for Southampton as they hadn't won since Nov. 9.

The Saints' Jay Rodriguez could do no wrong as he scored twice in the opening 20 minutes, per Squawka Football on Twitter: 

In other Boxing Day action, Fulham topped Norwich City 2-1 thanks to Scott Parker's 87th-minute heroics. Newcastle annihilated Stoke City at St. James' Park, scoring four second-half goals to maintain their two-point lead over Manchester United in the league table. 

Matchday 18's final clash saw Manchester City top Liverpool 2-1 behind first-half goals from Vincent Kompany and Alvaro Negredo. Reds star Luis Suarez was able to get off five shots, but never scored as Liverpool saw the Citizens leap them on the league table.

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter.