Liverpool failed to register a shot on target during a goalless first half of their Premier League clash with Stoke City at Anfield this afternoon.

Brendan Rodgers left Steven Gerrard on the bench on the 16th anniversary of the club captain's first league start for the Reds, who lacked creativity in his absence.

Neither could Stoke manage to test under-fire Reds stopper Simon Mignolet as Mame Biram Diouf squandered their only half-chance by heading wide from Bojan's cross.

Philippe Coutinho and Martin Skrtel were equally wasteful from promising positions for the hosts, who felt that they should have had a penalty when Lucas Leiva went down under a 42nd-minute tackle from Erik Pieters.

Liverpool are winless in their last five matches and are a point and a place behind Stoke in the table.