diff --git a/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/matcher/stanzapath.py b/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/matcher/stanzapath.py
index 61c5332..a4c0fda 100644
--- a/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/matcher/stanzapath.py
+++ b/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/matcher/stanzapath.py
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
 """
 
 from sleekxmpp.xmlstream.matcher.base import MatcherBase
+from sleekxmpp.xmlstream.stanzabase import fix_ns
 
 
 class StanzaPath(MatcherBase):
@@ -18,8 +19,16 @@ class StanzaPath(MatcherBase):
     The StanzaPath matcher selects stanzas that match a given "stanza path",
     which is similar to a normal XPath except that it uses the interfaces and
     plugins of the stanza instead of the actual, underlying XML.
+
+    :param criteria: Object to compare some aspect of a stanza against.
     """
 
+    def __init__(self, criteria):
+        self._criteria = fix_ns(criteria, split=True,
+                                          propagate_ns=False,
+                                          default_ns='jabber:client')
+        self._raw_criteria = criteria
+
     def match(self, stanza):
         """
         Compare a stanza against a "stanza path". A stanza path is similar to
@@ -31,4 +40,4 @@ class StanzaPath(MatcherBase):
         :param stanza: The :class:`~sleekxmpp.xmlstream.stanzabase.ElementBase`
                        stanza to compare against.
         """
-        return stanza.match(self._criteria)
+        return stanza.match(self._criteria) or stanza.match(self._raw_criteria)
diff --git a/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/stanzabase.py b/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/stanzabase.py
index d140970..dff8c99 100644
--- a/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/stanzabase.py
+++ b/sleekxmpp/xmlstream/stanzabase.py
@@ -77,6 +77,49 @@ def register_stanza_plugin(stanza, plugin, iterable=False, overrides=False):
 registerStanzaPlugin = register_stanza_plugin
 
 
+def fix_ns(xpath, split=False, propagate_ns=True, default_ns=''):
+    """Apply the stanza's namespace to elements in an XPath expression.
+
+    :param string xpath: The XPath expression to fix with namespaces.
+    :param bool split: Indicates if the fixed XPath should be left as a
+                       list of element names with namespaces. Defaults to
+                       False, which returns a flat string path.
+    :param bool propagate_ns: Overrides propagating parent element
+                              namespaces to child elements. Useful if
+                              you wish to simply split an XPath that has
+                              non-specified namespaces, and child and
+                              parent namespaces are known not to always
+                              match. Defaults to True.
+    """
+    fixed = []
+    # Split the XPath into a series of blocks, where a block
+    # is started by an element with a namespace.
+    ns_blocks = xpath.split('{')
+    for ns_block in ns_blocks:
+        if '}' in ns_block:
+            # Apply the found namespace to following elements
+            # that do not have namespaces.
+            namespace = ns_block.split('}')[0]
+            elements = ns_block.split('}')[1].split('/')
+        else:
+            # Apply the stanza's namespace to the following
+            # elements since no namespace was provided.
+            namespace = default_ns
+            elements = ns_block.split('/')
+
+        for element in elements:
+            if element:
+                # Skip empty entry artifacts from splitting.
+                if propagate_ns:
+                    tag = '{%s}%s' % (namespace, element)
+                else:
+                    tag = element
+                fixed.append(tag)
+    if split:
+        return fixed
+    return '/'.join(fixed)
+
+
 class ElementBase(object):
 
     """
@@ -760,7 +803,7 @@ class ElementBase(object):
                              may be either a string or a list of element
                              names with attribute checks.
         """
-        if isinstance(xpath, str):
+        if not isinstance(xpath, list):
             xpath = self._fix_ns(xpath, split=True, propagate_ns=False)
 
         # Extract the tag name and attribute checks for the first XPath node.
@@ -952,46 +995,9 @@ class ElementBase(object):
         return self
 
     def _fix_ns(self, xpath, split=False, propagate_ns=True):
-        """Apply the stanza's namespace to elements in an XPath expression.
-
-        :param string xpath: The XPath expression to fix with namespaces.
-        :param bool split: Indicates if the fixed XPath should be left as a
-                           list of element names with namespaces. Defaults to
-                           False, which returns a flat string path.
-        :param bool propagate_ns: Overrides propagating parent element
-                                  namespaces to child elements. Useful if
-                                  you wish to simply split an XPath that has
-                                  non-specified namespaces, and child and
-                                  parent namespaces are known not to always
-                                  match. Defaults to True.
-        """
-        fixed = []
-        # Split the XPath into a series of blocks, where a block
-        # is started by an element with a namespace.
-        ns_blocks = xpath.split('{')
-        for ns_block in ns_blocks:
-            if '}' in ns_block:
-                # Apply the found namespace to following elements
-                # that do not have namespaces.
-                namespace = ns_block.split('}')[0]
-                elements = ns_block.split('}')[1].split('/')
-            else:
-                # Apply the stanza's namespace to the following
-                # elements since no namespace was provided.
-                namespace = self.namespace
-                elements = ns_block.split('/')
-
-            for element in elements:
-                if element:
-                    # Skip empty entry artifacts from splitting.
-                    if propagate_ns:
-                        tag = '{%s}%s' % (namespace, element)
-                    else:
-                        tag = element
-                    fixed.append(tag)
-        if split:
-            return fixed
-        return '/'.join(fixed)
+        return fix_ns(xpath, split=split, 
+                             propagate_ns=propagate_ns, 
+                             default_ns=self.namespace)
 
     def __eq__(self, other):
         """Compare the stanza object with another to test for equality.