Jack Butland marked his return to Premier League action at the bet365 Stadium with a clean sheet as West Ham were held to a 0-0 draw at Stoke City.
The England goalkeeper made his first league appearance for over a year at Swansea City last weekend and followed it up with a solid performance on Saturday.
Butland had to be at his best midway through the first half to keep out Andre Ayew. Jonathan Calleri also went close in what was a pretty uninspiring opening 45 minutes, but Stoke controlled the opening stages of the second half, with Joe Allen and Xherdan Shaqiri both being denied by Adrian in the West Ham goal.
The visitors, though, continued to remain a threat going forward, but Butland kept the scores level with two more superb saves from Ayew and Calleri, as the Hammers were held to their third consecutive Premier League draw.
The result moves Stoke up to 40 points and keeps their hopes of securing a fourth consecutive top-half finish very much alive, while West Ham remain just a point further back.
