Leonardo Ulloa proved an able deputy for Jamie Vardy as Leicester City took a huge step towards the Premier League title with a nerveless 4-0 win over Swansea City.
MORE: Video: Crystal Palace outlast Watford to set up Manchester United final | Video: Andreu gifts Brisbane two goals in opening 15 minutes
Claudio Ranieri's side were without their top scorer Vardy after his dismissal in last week's draw with West Ham, but Riyad Mahrez's early opener, a brace from Ulloa either side of half-time and a late Marc Albrighton strike ensured they got back to winning ways and piled the pressure on Tottenham once more.
Mahrez is hot favourite to be named PFA Player of the Year later on Sunday, and it was the Algerian's 17th league goal of the season that set Leicester on their way, as he capitalised on a glaring error from Ashley Williams to open the scoring after 10 minutes.
Ulloa - who was forced off late on with a knock to the back - then powered Danny Drinkwater's free-kick past the helpless Lukasz Fabianski on the half-hour mark, and the Argentinian's second 15 minutes after the restart sent the King Power Stadium into raptures before substitute Albrighton rifled in a fourth late on.
Victory puts Leicester eight points clear of second-placed Tottenham, who can again cut the gap to five by beating West Brom at home on Monday.
Should Spurs drop points, though, Leicester would seal a remarkable maiden top-flight title by winning at the home of 20-time champions Manchester United next Sunday.
Swansea's confident start was undone by their captain's carelessness.
Williams gifted the ball to Mahrez around 20 yards out, and Leicester's dangerman advanced into the area before dipping inside onto his favoured left foot and coolly placing a shot beyond Fabianski at his near post.
That settled any early nerves at the King Power and the hosts' advantage was doubled in the 30th minute.
While Ulloa may not boast the pace and dynamism of Vardy, his aerial prowess was there for all to see when he climbed highest to head Drinkwater's excellent delivery home.
Swansea could have responded immediately, but Federico Fernandez failed where Ulloa succeeded as he nodded Gylfi Sigurdsson's set-piece over from close range.
Leicester, roared on by the home fans, set about putting the game completely beyond doubt in the second half – and it was Ulloa who did just that on the hour.
Jeffrey Schlupp charged down the left and eventually found the right pass to Ulloa, who slid in at the back post to convert from no more than two yards.
The Foxes were rampant now and Schlupp, Shinji Okazaki and Andy King - on for Ulloa - went close to adding a fourth, before Albrighton did so in the 85th minute by lashing home after a scramble in the Swansea area to put Leicester within touching distance of history.
Sunderland climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone after holding Arsenal to a 0-0 draw at the Stadium of Light.
Sam Allardyce's men have moved above Norwich City into 17th place on goal difference after a spirited performance against the Gunners in which they created the better chances to win.
Arsenal, for whom Jack Wilshere made a first appearance of the season, started strongly, but struggled to break down a resilient home side who were happy to sit deep for much of the first half.
It was Sunderland who came closest to breaking the deadlock as Patrick van Aanholt hit the woodwork with a free-kick, before Per Mertesacker and DeAndre Yedlin both escaped conceding a penalty for blocking the ball with a raised arm inside the area.
Sunderland sensed a potential upset and showed more attacking intent in the second half, with Petr Cech saving well from Wahbi Khazri and Jermain Defoe in particular, before Arsene Wenger introduced Theo Walcott and Danny Welbeck in a failed bid to find a winner that would have gone a long way towards guaranteeing a top-four finish.
Arsenal controlled the early stages and Alex Iwobi came close to an opener with just four minutes played, firing narrowly wide of Vito Mannone's right-hand post after combining well with Alexis Sanchez.
Sunderland seemed to have shaken off some early nerves and came inches from taking the lead, with Van Aanholt clipping the crossbar with a curling free-kick.
Sanchez had Mannone at full stretch from a similar distance and the former Arsenal goalkeeper denied Iwobi from the resulting corner, clawing the ball away from goal as the Nigeria forward looked to turn home.
Defoe, left isolated for much of the half, saw his frustrations increase as he fired Hector Bellerin's poor clearance straight into Mertesacker's raised arm, only for referee Mike Dean to wave away his appeals for a penalty.
And Iwobi was aggrieved not to earn a spot-kick for Arsenal just before the break after his shot struck the arm of the sliding Yedlin following Olivier Giroud's superb lay-off.
Sunderland came to life after the break, with Cech denying the home side three times in just a couple of minutes. First, he parried Defoe's fierce half-volley before turning Yann M'Vila's deflected rebound past the post, and the Arsenal keeper had to be at full stretch to keep Khazri's low shot from creeping into his bottom-right corner.
The home side continued to press, but Arsenal's threat on the counter kept the game very much open. Iwobi sliced horribly wide after Giroud had picked him out at the far post with Mannone off his line, before Defoe lobbed the ball over Cech and narrowly past the far post.
Arsenal threw on Walcott and Welbeck in pursuit of a winner. And the latter was frustrated not to win a free-kick from a clumsy Younes Kaboul challenge after Mannone misjudged a charge off his line.
Mannone responded to keep out a crisp Sanchez strike with just four minutes to play, and Sunderland held firm for a deserved draw that gives them real hope of beating the drop. The Gunners, meanwhile, must continue to look nervously over their shoulder towards Manchester United in fifth.