Ten man Leicester City tightened their grip on a Championship playoff place by thrashing relegation threatened Watford at the Walkers Stadium.
Martyn Waghorn and Paul Gallagher put the Foxes 2-0 up at half-time, while loan signings Jay Spearing and James Vaughan scored their first goals for the club, as Leicester's hunt for promotion remained firmly on track.
However, with Blackpool and Swansea both winning, Leicester still need one more win, or a Blackpool loss, to secure a playoff spot.
Defeat left the visitors very much in a relegation scrap with just two games to go this season, as fellow strugglers Scunthorpe and Crystal Palace both picked up points.
Watford started the game as the stronger side, with Danny Graham and Henri Lansbury both having good chances to put Watford in front, with Leicester goalkeeper Chris Weale saving from close range.
However, it was Leicester took the lead in controversial fashion when Jay DeMerit's challenge on Richie Wellens in the penalty area was deemed a foul by referee Nigel Miller, which allowed Martyn Waghorn to score from the spot for his twelfth goal of the season.
The home side doubled their lead minutes later after some clever build up play from the Foxes allowed Paul Gallagher to score his first goal in almost two months, firing a thunderous volley past Watford goalkeeper Scott Loach into the bottom corner of the net.
The game took a surprising turn on the stroke of half-time when Steve Howard was awarded a straight red card for a careless lunge on Ross Jenkins, which seemingly offered Watford a way back into the match.
However, the incident seemed to energise Nigel Pearson's men rather than persuade them to defend their two goal margin, starting the second half very brightly despite being a man down.
And after five minutes, the home side were able to capitalise on some poor defending by the Hornets, giving Liverpool loanee Jay Spearing plenty of time in the penalty area to fire home his first goal for Leicester City.
Substitute James Vaughan also opened his Leicester goal scoring account when he latched on to a through ball by Nicky Adams to put the Foxes 4-0 up, and well in control of the match.
Martin Taylor headed home a consolation for Watford with twelve minutes left, but it was too little too late for Malky Mackay's men, who lost their twelve away game of the season, and have failed to pick up three points on the road since October 2009.
Leicester remain fifth in the Championship, and could clinch a playoff spot next weekend with either a win at Deepdale, or a Blackpool loss to Peterborough.
Man of the Match - Jay Spearing
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