Both Everton and Sunderland struggled to create clear goalscoring chances during the opening 45 minutes at Goodison Park this afternoon.
The home side's best chance of the half fell to loanee midfielder Steven Pienaar, who exchanged passes with Magaye Gueye before shooting over the bar from inside the area.
Stephane Sessegnon went closest for the Black Cats in the 40th minute, but he was unable to keep his overhead kick on target.
Victory for Sunderland would see them move ahead of the Toffees in the Premier League table.
