Liverpool bounced back from a week of cup disappointments by cruising past bottom side Watford 3-0 away on Saturday to claim their seventh win in their last eight league games.
Knocked out of the FA and League Cups on their own ground by Arsenal in a week to forget, Liverpool consolidated their grip on third place with a comfortable victory secured by two goals for Peter Crouch and one for Craig Bellamy.
They move to 43 points, four ahead of Arsenal, who visit Blackburn Rovers later on Saturday in an evening kickoff.
Manchester United lead the way on 54 points ahead of their home game against Aston Villa, with Chelsea, at home to Wigan Athletic, six points behind.
Watford remain on 12 points, four adrift at the bottom and 10 points off the safety zone and look set for an immediate return to the second division.
Liverpool started slowly but went ahead after 34 minutes when a Bellamy flick-on eventually broke wide to Steve Finnan, who crossed low for the Welsh forward to tuck into an empty net.
Watford were competitive for most of the first half but once striker Tommy Smith failed to take advantage of a good position after 39 minutes, his side slipped out of contention by going two down a minute later.
Bellamy raced onto a Dirk Kuyt flick on and though his shot was well saved by Ben Foster, Crouch was on hand to nod in the rebound.
It was the same combination for the third three minutes after the restart as Bellamy crossed for the England striker to fire home his second
Jordan Stewart cracked the bar with a 25 metre shot for Watford after an hour but Liverpool were able to stroll home.
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