The stalemate sees the Robins sit 14th in the Championship table

Stoke and Bristol City played out a hard-fought 0-0 draw at the bet365 Stadium.

The visitors came closest to pinching a winner through Gibson Yah's first-half effort.

Mark Robins' men have lost just once in their last nine matches, while Bristol City avoided a third straight defeat following back-to-back 1-0 losses.

The stalemate sees the Robins sit 14th in the Championship table, while Stoke drop out of the play-off places to fall to ninth.

Stoke's one enforced change saw Luca Bombino replace the in-form Eric Bocat at left wing-back after the latter suffered a knee injury in the Potters' 1-0 win over Derby last time out.

There was much more movement in the Robins line-up, with the most eyebrow-raising of Michael Skubala's four changes seeing Brad Collins, once signed by Robins at Coventry, make his competitive debut in goal in place of Sam Tickle.

Lisav Eissat, Joe Williams and Lorent Tolaj replaced Rob Atkinson, Yu Hirakawa and Scott Twine as City changed to a 3-5-2 formation to match their in-form hosts.

Only West Ham had picked up more points than the 19 Stoke had accumulated since losing their opening three games of the season, and the hosts made the brighter start at a wet and windy bet365 Stadium.

Lamine Cisse latched onto Ben Wilmot's defence-splitting pass before blazing his effort high and wide inside the opening two minutes.

Wilmot then took advantage of some indecisiveness in the Bristol City defence, nipping in and firing his effort past the far post.

Much of Stoke's early good play had come down the right between Wilmot and Cisse, but when the latter was forced off injured after 20 minutes, the hosts' threat dwindled.

The Robins took 35 minutes to notch their first attempt on goal when Dom Ballard was played in by Eissat and cut inside before firing his effort off Bosun Lawal for a corner.

The best opening of the half was to come shortly after when Bristol City wing-back Rio Cardines found space down the right and cut back for Yah, who scuffed his effort wide from 12 yards out.

Lawal then fired over following Jack McGlynn's corner.

The visitors started the second half where they left off in the first, with former Stoke loanee Luke McNally heading Cameron Pring's cross narrowly wide eight minutes after the restart.

Justin Devenny had scored two goals for the Potters since his move from Crystal Palace without getting back on the scoresheet since early September, but he came agonisingly close to putting Stoke ahead when he almost got on the end of George Hirst's knockdown following McGlynn's corner.

At the other end, Ballard glanced Pring's corner over the bar before whistling an effort narrowly over the crossbar as the visitors continued to threaten.

As the clash ticked over into stoppage time, McGlynn's curling effort left Collins stranded in the Robins' goal, but flashed past the left-hand post as both sides were left to settle for a point.