Stalemate in Bundesliga basement battle between Stuttgart, Hertha Berlin

Hertha Berlin failed to pull clear of the Bundesliga relegation zone as they were held to a 0-0 draw by bottom-of-the-table Stuttgart this evening.

A victory for either side would have been a boost in their survival battles, but neither were confident enough to really push for the win and ended up settling for a point.

Chances were few and far between in the first half, as Stuttgart youngster Timo Werner struck wide from a good position and Hertha's Valentin Stocker tested Sven Ulreich with a low shot from outside of the box.

Stuttgart began to get on top early in the second period as Thomas Kraft tipped over Daniel Ginczek's close-range effort and pushed away Daniel Schwaab's header, but it was Berlin who had the best chance to nick a winner.

Serey Die's mistake gifted Ivorian compatriot Salomon Kalou the ball and the former Chelsea forward skipped past a couple of challenges to square for Nico Schulz, but he could only drag wide of the post on 81 minutes.

Frustrated by his miss, Schultz was sent off in the eighth minute of stoppage time for a second bookable offence, and the full-time whistle soon came to keep the gap between the two struggling sides at five points.