Manchester City travelled to the Britannia Stadium this afternoon looking for a first away win of the campaign against Stoke City, who have never lost at home to today's opponents in the Premier League.
City boss Manuel Pellegrini chose to rotate his team and made five changes in total, with Stevan Jovetic and Alvaro Negredo among those given an opportunity to impress.
Stoke created the better chances throughout but failed to break the deadlock, with Jonathan Walters and Kenwyne Jones among those guilty of missing chances.
Find out which side will be happier with a hard-earned point by checking out Sports Mole's analysis below.
Match statistics:
Stoke:
Shots 11
On target 3
Possession 43%
Corners 2
Fouls 13
Man City:
Shots 10
On target 3
Possession 57%
Corners 4
Fouls 11
Was the result fair?
In all honesty, despite dominating possession City can count themselves lucky to head home with a point tonight. Stoke looked livelier and created a string of strong scoring opportunities, but failed to take any of them.
Stoke's performance
Mark Hughes can take plenty of positives from Stoke's efforts this afternoon. Steven N'Zonzi marshalled the midfield brilliantly, an area in which Stoke took full advantage of their extra man at times. Charlie Adam provided good delivery on more than one occasion, but despite being willing workers, Walters and Jones should really have scored at least one each, a lack of cutting edge costing Hughes a notable scalp.
City's performance
Pellegrini decided to rotate his team and that gamble did not pay off. Javi Garcia's inclusion in defence was a surprise and he struggled throughout, while Jack Rodwell and Yaya Toure often failed to contain constant pressing in a congested midfield. Negredo also had very little to work with in the final third, while Jovetic hardly enjoyed a stellar debut. Still, though, despite all those negatives, City return home with a point after grinding out a 0-0 draw.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Steven N'Zonzi: The midfielder produced an assured, measured display in the centre which consistently allowed Stoke to win back the ball high up the pitch. The Frenchman showed a lack of cutting edge when clean through in the final third, but stood out with an all-action display, which was marked by a wonderful pair of sliding tackles on Rodwell and Toure. Joe Hart also deserves a mention in a close second place after keeping City level with a return to something like his composed best.
Biggest gaffe
Walters has to take this hands down after failing to convert a header from five yards completely unmarked. The forward was picked out by a magnificent cross from Adam, but almost had too much time and was unable to get meaningful contact on a gilt-edged chance.
Referee performance
Mark Clattenburg had a relatively quiet afternoon, but kept a lid on a physical match by regularly awarding free kicks on the halfway line. The official also deserves credit for dealing with Negredo after the Spaniard threw himself to the ground under a soft challenge from Huth, using Toure as an interpreter to warn the forward.
What next?
Stoke: Hughes faces another stern test early in his time with the Potters, with a visit to Arsenal next Sunday as he looks to extend a four-match unbeaten run.
City: Pellegrini's side continue a run of seven games in 21 days on Tuesday as their Champions League campaign gets underway against Viktoria Plzen in the Czech Republic, with the Manchester derby looming large four days later.
