Everton missed out on the chance to move into fifth place in the Premier League after being held to a 0-0 draw by West Ham United in East London.
The Toffees failed to register a single attempt on target across the 90 minutes, while their opponents fared marginally better with a couple of their own.
Cheikhou Kouyate sent a deflected shot down the middle for Maarten Stekelenburg to keep out in the first half, and Manuel Lanzini was also thwarted by the returning keeper in a straightforward manner 15 minutes from time.
Relive how the 90 minutes of action unfolded with Sports Mole's live text coverage below.
Hello and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of the Premier League meeting between West Ham United and Everton at the London Stadium. This is a fixture that the Toffees do not tend to lose, doing so just once in the last 17 league meetings, but they last picked up all three points on their travels in the top flight some three months ago - a narrow win away to Crystal Palace.
Both teams still have something to play for as we approach the final month of the campaign; Everton looking to hold down a place in the top five, but facing serious competition from Manchester United and Arsenal to do so, while West Ham are still just about looking over their shoulder after climbing nine points clear of the drop zone. Victory for the Hammers today, though, and all of a sudden finishing in the top half will be their new aim.
TEAM NEWS!
WEST HAM UNITED XI: Adrian; Collins, Fonte, Reid, Masuaku; Fernandes, Nordtveit, Kouyate; Lanzini, Ayew, Calleri
EVERTON XI: Stekelenburg; Holgate, Jagielka, Williams, Baines; Gueye, Schneiderlin, Davies; Barkley, Mirallas, Lukaku
Starting with a look at the visiting team, manager Ronald Koeman has made one alteration from the side that beat Burnley 3-1 last time out. It is a fairly big alteration, though, as Maarten Stekelenburg returns to the fold in place of Joel Robles for his first start since the Merseyside derby meeting with Liverpool prior to Christmas. The Dutchman, brought to the club by Koeman last summer, has fallen out of favour in the past few months but now has another chance to impress.
The Toffees are without hamstring injury victim James McCarthy today, and likely for the rest of the season, while Mohamed Besic is still not fit enough to return to the squad after nearly an entire season out injured. There is a place up top for the fit and firing Romelu Lukaku, however, with the Belgian scoring in each of his last nine appearances against West Ham - a truly phenomenal record that stands him out as the key man to watch today.
Only Barcelona maestro Lionel Messi, with 17 goals to his name, has found the net more often than Lukaku in Europe's five major leagues since the turn of the year. The in-form Everton striker has only netted once of his 14 goals in that time away from Goodison Park, however, so he will be looking to rectify that slight quirk this afternoon. Support will be provided by Kevin Mirallas and Ross Barkley in what is a 4-3-3 formation for the visitors.
In terms of the hosts, there is also news of a goalkeeping change as Adrian - as expected - comes in for Darren Randolph. The Republic of Ireland international made a couple of howlers in the 2-2 draw with Sunderland last weekend and, although boss Slaven Bilic did initially appear likely to stand by his man, Thursday's press conference left the impression that a change would be made for at least today's game.
Adrian is one of four players to come into the starting lineup, along with Winston Reid, Harvard Nordtveit and Jonathan Calleri. Reid returns after a five-week absence through a groin strain, while Calleri is handed a full debut in the Premier League. Injured striker Andy Carroll drops out of the squad entirely, as confirmed by Bilic earlier in the week, and there is no room for suspended duo Sam Byram and Mark Noble.
Robert Snodgrass is another to make way as part of the four tweaks from the four-goal draw with Sunderland a week ago, but perhaps surprisingly there is no room for Diafra Sakho up top. The Senegalese was rumoured to have had a falling out with his manager last week, only for Bilic to dispute this and open the door for him to return today with Carroll injured and Enner Valencia ineligible. The nod instead goes to Calleri for his first league start.
BENCH WATCH!
WEST HAM UNITED SUBS: Randolph, Cresswell, Rice, Masaki, Holland, Sakho, Fletcher
EVERTON SUBS: Robles, Kone, Barry, Calvert-Lewin, Lookman, Pennington, Kenny
Not the strongest of benches named by West Ham, it is fair to say, as they are without a string of injured and suspended first-team names. A chance for some of the younger, inexperienced players to perhaps impress if turned to, while for the visitors they have the most experienced player around in Gareth Barry. Ademola Lookman and Matthew Pennington have both enjoyed playing time at this level but are being made to settle for bench roles at the moment.
The big team news is that both managers have made a tweak between the sticks this afternoon - Adrian replacing Darren Randolph for West Ham United and Joel Robles dropping out in expense of Maarten Stekelenburg as far as Everton are concerned. That is the only change made by the visitors, while the top-five chasing visitors make three other alterations from last time out.
West Ham at somewhat of a crossroads ahead of today's match, then, sitting nine points above the relegation zone and now just three off the top half. While finishing in the top 10 would mark a solid campaign on the whole, it has been a far from straightforward second season in Premier League management for Bilic, who will no doubt simply just be happy to have avoided being dragged further into the relegation mire.
Make no mistake about it - the Hammers were very much in a relegation battle just a few weeks ago, losing four matches in a row and going seven without a win overall to set up a tense showdown with fellow strugglers Swansea City. It was a game that United dare not lose, and they did what was required of them by scrapping a narrow 1-0 win to move eight points clear at the time. Defeat in that one and the gap would have been just two points.
Bilic now appears to be on a more solid footing as far as his job is concerned, having been given a vote of confidence by Messrs Gold and Sullivan prior to returning to winning ways with that triumph over Swansea. West Ham are still not officially safe from the drop, though, and will probably need another victory from their remaining five matches to get fully over the line. The top half is also in sight, so today's result could go a long way to determining the overriding mood.
Last weekend's draw at the Stadium of Light was a tad cruel, being denied back-to-back wins by a late Fabio Borini strike - coming after the second of Randolph's goalkeeping errors - but still leaving them in a decent enough position to climb a few places in the table today. It is not the busiest of Premier League weekends, with just a handful of fixtures taking place due to the FA Cup, so a chance for the Hammers to capitalise on that scenario.
Looking at the wider picture, it is just that one Swansea win in nine for the Hammers, who have collected 16 points fewer after 33 games compared to the same stage 12 months ago. If their last campaign at Upton Park was one to remember, pushing the teams above them all the way and earning a backdoor route into the Europa League, then their first season at their new much-maligned London Stadium home has been one to largely forget.
DID YOU KNOW? West Ham United have dropped an unrivalled 22 points from winning positions this season, which is their joint-worst return in a single Premier League campaign. The Hammers' tally of 18 goals at the London Stadium so far in 2016-17 is also eight fewer than they have netted away, as they struggle to fully adapt to life away from their long-standing Upton Park home.
It has been a season to forget on the whole for West Ham United, who head into today's game on the back of a run that has seen them win just one of their last nine matches. The Hammers are 16 points worse off after 33 games than at the same stage 12 months ago, yet victory today and they will be on the brink of a place in the top half of the table.
Everton make the trip south to the capital sitting seventh in the table, three points off fifth after playing two games more than Arsenal and Manchester United directly above them. The Toffees have undoubtedly been the 'best of the rest' in the top flight this term and, given the comments made by their chief executive earlier this week, a busy summer of transfer activity can be expected at Goodison Park.
The challenge for Koeman is to challenge for the top four next season, aided by the arrivals of one or two top-quality players in the summer. The Dutchman has stressed that he is keen to keep a small squad, instead turning to youngsters when needs be, and that has certainly worked this term as the Toffees are very much in the race for a top-five finish. It is hard to judge just how close they are to achieving their target until the teams above them play their games in hand.
All Everton can do for now is continue building momentum and putting points on the board, making life all the more difficult for both Arsenal and Man United, who are themselves stuttering at the moment. The Merseyside outfit can climb into the lofty heights of fifth with victory on their travels this afternoon, where they will remain for at least the next 24 hours when United take on Burnley at Turf Moor in Sunday's early kickoff.
Finishing in sixth or fifth will not only send a message out to those heavyweight sides ahead of next season, but it will also give Everton an easier route into the Europa League. The Toffees, as things stand, will have to go through the gruelling qualification process which caught West Ham out earlier this term. Supporters would have taken it if offered to them, certainly, but there is still a chance of automatically progressing into the group stages.
The incentive is certainly there for the Toffees in these closing weeks of the season, then, with games against Chelsea and - more importantly - Arsenal still to play. Koeman's men were denied victory in their last away match at Sunderland, but they were more comprehensively beaten by both Liverpool and Tottenham in two of previous three outings on their travels. All-in-all they have gone five without a win away from Goodison Park since beating Palace in January.
It is just the two wins in their last 14 away matches, meanwhile, somewhat cancelling out their terrific home form that has seen them win eight on the spin. Everton failed in tests with Tottenham, Man United and Liverpool in recent weeks, albeit only being denied victory at Old Trafford by a late Zlatan Ibrahimovic penalty, so they will need to improve in that regard when facing Arsenal and Chelsea in the next month.
PREVIOUS MEETINGS! West Ham United have won just seven of their last 48 league meetings with Everton spanning the last 30 years, losing 29 of those games. The Toffees are currently on an eight-match unbeaten run away to the Hammers in the Premier League, winning six and drawing two, including a 2-0 victory at Goodison Park in October when Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley were on target.
With kickoff now less than 10 minutes away at the London Stadium, let us check out some pre-match thoughts from both camps.
Slaven Bilic: "Concentrating on our own fortunes, these five games are going to determine where we are going to finish in the Premier League. We are in a position where we can look above us, but we also need to keep the gap below us and the relegation zone big. We can finish higher in the table and a lot of things can happen in the last five games, as we found when we lost five in a row recently. The table is very congested, but it is more or less the same in most top leagues in Europe, where the gaps between the mid-table teams are very small."
Ronald Koeman: "My meeting with the players is no different from when we play away to when we play at home. When the players play in front of their own fans they find themselves a little bit more comfortable but we go to West Ham and they still need points for this season. We can show we have a strong team and can play away from home in the same way we like to play at home and we will take up the challenge of trying to win all of our remaining games. Of course a top-five finish is still an incentive. It is our target; we know it's really difficult and a battle between us, Arsenal and Man United."
Bilic outlining his intentions to end the season on a high by climbing a few places in the division. The Hammers were very much in a relegation battle earlier this month on the back of that horrendous losing run, but after picking up victory over Swansea in a six-pointer they are surely now safe for another season. You would not bet against the East London club finishing in the top half, but they will likely need a win today if they are to do so.
Koeman is not giving up hope of pegging back Arsenal and Man United in sixth and seventh respectively, meanwhile, knowing that his side can seriously up the pressure today by picking up the win that will lift them above their rivals. Those two Premier League giants may have three games in hand come 5pm this evening, but the Toffees know that they have the points on the board and can sit back and watch as events unfold over the next five days.
Both sets of players are now out on the field of play at the London Stadium, with kickoff just a couple of minutes away. Just the one defeat in 17 league meetings with West Ham United for Everton, remember, but they have not picked up a three-point haul away from their Goodison Park home in over three months now. Plenty to play for in East London as referee Roger East prepares to get us up and running.
KICKOFF! We are officially under way at the London Stadium in one of just four Premier League games taking place today. Everton seeking a third-straight win this afternoon in a fixture that they simply love.
Nordtveit is sitting in front of the West Ham back four this afternoon, and he is guilty of fouling Barkley to concede a free kick early on. Positive start from the visitors, who are looking to find their groove here.
Kouyate is down and in need of some treatment with less than five minutes on the clock. Cresswell immediately sent out to warm up, meaning that Bilic - already without some key men - may well make a change in the opening stages of the contest.
Not an ideal start to the match, with that three-minute stoppage breaking up play. Kouyate does appear to be OK to carry on for now, but how long he lasts is anyone's guess. Play is now back under way at the London Stadium.
Now that play has settled a little, it is clear that West Ham have set themselves out in a 3-5-2 formation. Fernandes and Masuaku are occupying wing-back roles and the returning Reid is the middle central defender.
Not a great deal of action in these stop-start opening 11 minutes in East London. West Ham unable to really get the ball out of their own half so far, while Everton have seen more possession but done little with it.
Liveliest moment of the contest so far as both West Ham wing-backs get high up the pitch. Masuaku sends a decent delivery into the box which Calleri gets on the end of, seeing his attempt deflect behind for a corner kick.
The subsequent corner was also well delivered, but somehow no player in claret and blue could turn it goalwards. At the other end, Adrian scuffs his attempted clearance but gets away with it when put under pressure.
That error from Adrian, which Lukaku was so nearly in position to pounce on, is near enough the closest we have come to a breakthrough. Still waiting for the first serious shooting opportunity of the afternoon in East London.
United seeing a lot more of the ball over the past five minutes or so, looking to utilise their two wing-backs. Koeman on the sidelines barking out some instructions to his players, presumably telling them to up the tempo.
Davies with a late challenge on Reid, leaving the Kiwi in a little pain. Back in the side after five weeks out today, Reid will be hoping to run off that knock, but at the moment he is still receiving some treatment.
Still very little in terms of goalmouth action at the London Stadium. Now a quarter of the way through the match, which at the moment is seemingly being played exclusively in the middle third of the field.
West Ham shaping up more like the away team than home, which will ultimately suit the Toffees because they have such a strong record at home this term. Surely just a matter of time before the contest sparks into life.
YELLOW CARD! Idrissa Gueye becomes the first player to be cautioned following a challenge on Calleri in midfield. West Ham get the ball into the box but Jagielka is well positioned to clear it away in a dangerous area.
SAVE! A first on-target attempt of the afternoon, as Nordtveit is first denied by Davies's block in front of goal and then sees his follow-up shot deflect into the path of Maarten Stekelenburg between the Everton sticks.
SHOT! Kouyate, the matchwinner here against Swansea in that vital clash recently, finds some space to shoot 25 yards out but rather miscues his effort. Stekelenburg dived across but he was not required, regardless.
YELLOW CARD! Edimilson Fernandes clips the heels of Baines, who was looking to fly down the wing, and is rightly cautioned by referee Roger East. Mirallas delivers the free kick into the box, where Collins is again there to head away.
Collins is having a stormer so far, much like in that last home game against Swansea. Lukaku drifts out to the right-hand flank and sends in the ball, but there was the Welshman to get his head to it at the expense of a corner.
Near enough West Ham's best attacking move of the match, which culminates in Masuaku taking on his man down the left and asking questions of the Toffees' backline. No way through on that occasion, but the next cross sees Collins nod the ball wide.
Everton now back to dominating the ball, but it is all very easy for United defensively speaking. Too little bite from the visitors in the opening 39 minutes, which simply must change if they are to find a way through.
Barkley left frustrated by a lack of options when on the ball in the final third. Just three minutes, plus around the same amount of time added on, of this pretty quiet first half left to play. Collins's header is hooked clear at the back post.
For all their possession, Everton have been second best on the whole at the London Stadium. West Ham have had a couple of half-decent attempts, forcing Stekelenburg into a routine stop through Kouyate's drive a little earlier.
Fernandes with a chance to deliver towards Calleri, but he horribly overhits his right-sided cross under little pressure. Both teams just lacking when it comes to that final ball at the moment, hence the flat opening 45 minutes.
A good two-minute spell for the hosts, who look threatening but still cannot find a route through on goal. Just the two minutes added on at the end of the first half, so we will likely go into the break all square.
HALF TIME: WEST HAM UNITED 0-0 EVERTON
Referee Roger East brings an end to the first half at the London Stadium. Not the liveliest of affairs so far, with just the one shot on target in the opening 45 minutes - Kouyate testing Stekelenburg with an appropriately weak attempt down the middle to sum things up.
There was a nervy moment for Adrian early on in his first league start since November, as he made a hash of his attempted clearance and was very nearly caught out by Romelu Lukaku. That was essentially as close as the below-par visitors came to a breakthrough in the first half, failing to get their star man - who has netted in each of his previous nine against United - into the game and ended the half without a serious attempt of any note.
The quiet nature of Everton's attacks was largely down to the positive defensive work of James Collins, who constantly headed the ball away and also played a pivotal role at the opposite end, nodding the ball down towards Cheikhou Kouyate who could not quite hook it into the net. Kouyate was responsible for the only on-target attempt of the opening 45 minutes, sending a deflected shot down the middle for Maarten Stekelenburg - himself restored to the side after four months away - to keep out with relative ease.
Collins also nodded wide from a decent position and Kouyate, the matchwinner here against Swansea City in the Hammers' last home league outing, miscued a shot wide from 25 yards out. Koeman sent Gareth Barry for a pretty intense warm-up at the end of the half, so could we see a change in personnel at the midway stage?
WEST HAM UNITED SUBS: Randolph, Cresswell, Rice, Masaki, Holland, Sakho, Fletcher
EVERTON SUBS: Robles, Kone, Barry, Calvert-Lewin, Lookman, Pennington, Kenny
RESTART! We are back up and running at the London Stadium, where there is news of two half-time changes to bring you. Koeman is not messing around, turning to Gareth Barry and Ademola Lookman in place of Idrissa Gueye and Tom Davies.
A third change to bring you up to speed with - Sian Massey-Ellis, who was running the line in the first half, has picked up an injury and will be replaced by Lee Probert for the next 45 minutes. Massey-Ellis now on fourth official duties.
Space opens up for Calleri on the edge of the area, but rather than going for goal he instead look to slide it through for a teammate. The ball was blocked and the Toffees were able to clear their lines once again.
Better from the visitors, who are showing more attacking intent already since the restart. Mirallas makes good inroads into the box but his attempted backheeled pass is cut out. Another cross from the left is then collected by Adrian.
BLOCK! Just about the closest we have come to a goal so far. Lanzini rifles the ball right down the middle but Jagielka was there to block it aside by Jagielka - not quite sure how much he knew about it, though!
A far more exciting second half here in East London, as Everton now attack. Lookman initially does well but Barkley wants too many touches and in the end the shot does not arrive, with the Toffees sill yet to test Adrian.
A very stretched contest on our hands at the London Stadium; both teams going all out for the opening goal. A ball over the top is latched on to by Lukaku, who looks to cut inside from the right but is blocked by Fonte.
An hour now on the clock at the London Stadium, which is usually the time when managers turn to their bench. Koeman unlikely to do so having made a double change at the break, and Bilic will likely hold off for now with his team looking lively.
Home fans now really starting to get behind their side following a bright five-minute spell. That opening goal will surely arrive at this rate, although it is the hosts who are most likely to find it as Everton are too toothless up top.
WEST HAM UNITED SUB! Sakho makes his return to action following a back injury - or a falling out with his manager, depending on who you believe - taking the place of Calleri. Williams booked prior to that for pulling back on Kouyate.
Masuaku with a heavy tough that he just about gets away with, but his attempted through-ball has too much on it. Lanzini sent a tasty cross in from the left but it was headed clear by Williams. Just no way through at either end.
This is now the only goalless match of today's Premier League fixtures. The second half has been an improvement on the first in terms of entertainment, but neither side has shown enough quality in the final third.
YELLOW CARD! Ayew looks to inject some quality into the match by taking on a few men, but he is stopped in his tracks illegally by half-time substitute Gareth Barry. Roger East reaches into his pocket for the fourth time today.
Lookman again gets into a promising position and spins away on the half turn, but he drags his long-range shot wide of the target. Seventy-two minutes on the clock and still no save for Adrian to make in the West Ham goal.
EVERTON SUB! Calvert-Lewin is introduced for his ninth senior appearance, taking the place of the ineffective Mirallas in the frontline. Collins appeared to pull up a minute or so ago, but it looks to have been cramp.
SAVE! Lanzini is allowed to carry the ball a good 10 yards and is not fully closed down, getting a shot away which deflects for Stekelenburg to routinely keep out. Still, at least the Hammers are testing the keeper!
YELLOW CARD! Another booking, this time shown to Jose Fonte for a strong challenge on Calvert-Lewin. Sakho looked to do well to barge Williams off the ball and keep it in play, but referee Roger East was having none of it and awarded a free kick.
WEST HAM UNITED SUB! Kouyate has been struggling with a knee injury since the opening minutes, so he has done well to last this long. The powerful midfielder is replaced by Cresswell for the final 10 minutes here.
The possession has been split almost 50-50 in this second half, pretty much telling you all you need to know - the two sides have cancelled each other out. Just eight minutes to go now and still little sign of an opener, in truth.
As expected, Cresswell and slotted in at right wing-back and Fernandes shifted across into central midfield. Calvert-Lewin with a fine delivery which Fonte appeared to get a toe to to prevent Lukaku from pouncing at the back post.
Everton win a couple of corners, the latter of which culminates in Williams being tugged back by Collins inside the box. Had the referee spotted that, it would have been a penalty. The visitors looking to rally late on.
West Ham's turn to win a corner, which goes deep towards Fonte. The Portuguese headed downwards and was unable to get it back into the mix, ending the Hammers' latest spell of pressure. Both teams still going all out for the breakthrough.
Just the two minutes of added time to be played in East London. Nordtveit currently suffering from cramp on a rare full outing for him, as we edge towards a bore draw. Just the two shots on target all afternoon, both for the Hammers.
FULL TIME: WEST HAM UNITED 0-0 EVERTON
A disappointing afternoon of football comes to a close at the London Stadium. Little between the teams on the whole, cancelling themselves out over the full 90 minutes, but it was West Ham United who came closest to the game's only goal. The Hammers managed two attempts on target, compared to Everton's tally of zero, though in the end the points were shared.
That concludes Sports Mole's live text coverage of events at the London Stadium. An on-the-whistle report can be found by clicking here, while updates from the FA Cup semi-final clash between Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea are now up and running right here. Thanks for joining!
