A typically gritty display from Stoke denied Blackburn a fifth straight home win as an uninspiring encounter ended goalless.

With Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce absent following minor heart surgery, his players failed to deliver the kind of tonic he would have desired. Stoke enjoyed the better of the chances although it was the home side who went closest to scoring with Steven Nzonzi striking the woodwork.

Australian midfielder Brett Emerton and French duo Gael Givet and Nzonzi returned to the Blackburn line-up after missing the midweek defeat at Fulham.

Stoke made two changes to the side that beat Portsmouth on their last outing, with Liam Lawrence and Mamady Sidibe replacing Rory Delap and James Beattie.

Blackburn started confidently, with on-loan Chelsea striker Franco Di Santo testing Thomas Sorensen early on with a shot the Danish goalkeeper did well to save.

But Stoke should have claimed the lead midway through the opening period after Ricardo Fuller sent Dean Whitehead clear.

The striker's shot was under-powered and Paul Robinson was able to turn it away relatively comfortably.

Blackburn suffered a blow in the 32nd minute when David Dunn, who has scored six goals for Blackburn this season, had to go off, prompting a tactical reshuffle which saw Jason Roberts come on as a second striker alongside Di Santo.

Stoke were happy to play on the counter-attack and that approach generated a great chance to take the lead six minutes before the break, when Robinson pulled off a fine save to deny Lawrence at close range as the midfielder attempted to finish off Sidibe's inviting cross from the right.

Eight minutes into the second half, Andy Wilkinson struck the side netting after getting past Givet.

That seemed to provoke a reaction from the home side and Sorensen had to be alert to keep out an overhead kick from Rovers captain Ryan Nelsen before Nzonzi beat the goalkeeper with a drive that came back off the post.

Chris Samba had the chance to snatch all three points in injury time but the Blackburn centreback headed substitute Morten Gamst Pedersen's cross wide.