Manchester City squandered the opportunity to move back into second in the Premier League with a flat goalless draw at home to Stoke City on Wednesday night.
City were unusually abject in front of their home fans at the Etihad Stadium in the first-half with Stoke the more threatening side, though the away side failed to take any of their half-chances.
They improved after the break but were unable to force a breakthrough, settling for a point and failing to score in a home league game under Pep Guardiola for the first time.
The draw leaves them third on the same points as second-placed Tottenham Hotspur but with an inferior goal difference and means that City have yet to complete a league double over the Potters since the 1998-99 campaign, when both clubs were in the third tier.
De Bruyne returns for City while Berahino makes first Stoke start
Pep Guardiola made three changes to the team that eased to victory at Sunderland last weekend, with Kevin De Bruyne restored to the starting line-up.
He replaced David Silva, who dropped to the bench, while the in-form Raheem Sterling - with three goals and four assists in his last seven appearances in all competitions - missed out on the match-day 18 altogether as he was rested.
Jesús Navas replaced the absent Sterling, with Nicolás Otamendi also coming back in at the heart of defence at the expense of John Stones. He paired Aleksandar Kolarov who moved inside from left-back.
Stoke boss Mark Hughes handed Saido Berahino his first start since joining from West Bromwich Albion in January, with Jonathan Walters joining him up front. Peter Crouch was dropped for the first time since a 2-2 draw with Leicester City on December 17.
As part of four changes, Mame Biram Diouf - having scored Stoke's only ever goal at the Etihad - replaced Marko Arnautović, who scored twice in the win over Middlesbrough on Saturday but missed out with illness.
Glen Johnson's knee injury meant Phil Bardsley came in while Glenn Whelan dropped out as Hughes' 4-4-2 formation, a change from his usual 4-2-3-1, allowed Joe Allen to drop into central midfield alongside Geoff Cameron.
Centre-back Bruno Martins Indi continued his remarkable run of starting every league game since joining from Porto, despite having been ranked as "very doubtful" by his manager only on Monday with a knee problem.
Stoke the more dangerous team in the first-half
Caballero was forced low down to his right to deny Diouf in the early stages, pushing the forward's attempt wide of danger after Gaël Clichy's slip inside the box allowed him to run on to Erik Pieters' cross, but that was the only half-chance of a dreary first 20 minutes.
Surprisingly, Stoke were the more dangerous team early on. Otamendi was fortunate that Ramadan Sobhi stayed on his feet when the Argentine stretched out a leg inside the area. The Egyptian instead spun the defender to make himself some space, but his low cross was cleared at the near post by Bacary Sagna.
Stoke were wasteful with their opportunities, Martins Indi finding himself wide open at a free-kick only to tamely side-foot Bardsley's cross for Caballero to catch comfortably.
The home side struggled to find a way through Stoke's rigid two banks of four, though Diouf was required to make a superbly-timed sliding tackle to prevent Sané from latching on to Agüero's through ball.
Agüero, City's captain on the night, was largely subdued but showed signs of his world-class quality with a jinking run that forced Bardsley into bringing him down. Kolarov's curling free-kick forced a strong stop from Lee Grant, City's first shot on target of the game.
City desperately lacking attacking invention
Though Pep Guardiola's men looked to step up the tempo afterwards, they were starved of space by a well-organised Stoke and their own lack of incision consistently let them down. Clichy floated a cross harmlessly out of play after one of City's better passing moves.
And Stoke continued to misfire in front of goal when another Bardsley free-kick dropped to an unmarked Diouf at the corner of the box and he blazed high over the bar despite having an abundance of time and space.
City had come into this game having won their previous eight Premier League home games against Stoke by an aggregate score of 19-1, but their lack of threat was startling - leading to a dull affair against a Stoke side more than happy to sit back and soak up their pressure.
The Citizens were desperately deprived of the threat from out wide that had underpinned their previous few performances, Navas proving particularly disappointing as he continually cut inside to no effect, City clearly proving to miss the absent Sterling.
And yet the kind of incision that City had shown none of almost created their clearest chance so far on the brink of half-time. Otamendi spotted De Bruyne's run in behind the back-four and found him with an excellent long ball, though the Belgian couldn't stretch to bring it under control before Grant came out to gather.
City left frustrated despite improved second-half display
Little changed beyond the break, Stoke still the better side going forward when Walters flicked on for Berahino to run in behind but his attempt at an angle was blocked by Otamendi.
City exploded into life in the 54th minute when Sané tricked his marker and ran into space down the left, pulling back for Agüero although Pieters stood strong to head clear his curled attempt.
Guardiola called upon David Silva, having claimed assists in his last two outings, on 56 minutes as the Spaniard replaced Navas and his introduction promised greater threat.
Indeed, a one-two with De Bruyne down the right resulted in the Belgian's low cross making its way to Sané in the centre but he lashed a wild effort well over the crossbar from 12 yards.
It appeared increasingly likely that City, having scored in every Premier League home game under Guardiola, would be left frustrated - Yaya Touré curling over Grant's goal and into the stands after Martins Indi's poor clearance invited a shot.
Only moments later, Agüero couldn't quite meet De Bruyne's near-post cross - which subsequently fell just out of reach of Sané - before Silva drilled inches wide after a one-two with Fernandinho on the edge of the box.
Stoke survive late pressure to earn precious point
Stoke struggled to demonstrate the same threat they showed in the first 45, perhaps a deliberate tactic, and their wastefulness in front of goal in the first-half appeared though it may come back to bite them.
Substitute Ibrahim Afellay wasted a promising chance for a counter-attack, spraying his pass in search of Walters out of play with Berahino also in space as Stoke sought brief respite from City's pressure.
Guardiola summoned more firepower from the bench in Kelechi Iheanacho with quarter-of-an-hour to go and City went close on a handful of occasions, Silva's strike deflected just wide before Otamendi's header bounced on to the roof of the net from the corner.
Late on, Agüero beat Bardsley on a solo run to get into space but firing into the side-netting before substitute Iheanacho somehow flicked De Bruyne's cross wide from a great position inside the six-yard box.
Deep into injury time, Sané fired wide from yet another De Bruyne cross despite beating Bardsley to the ball, with City unable to find a way through Stoke as the visitors held on for a point and a first clean sheet away from home since November 27.
