Sunderland manager Steve Bruce is under increasing pressure after his side could only manage a goalless draw with Fulham on Saturday.
The absence of suspended Sebastian Larsson saw Kieran Richardson move to a more advanced role for the hosts, with Phil Bardsley stepping in to replace him at full-back.
Steven Sidwell was missing for the Cottagers after a midweek hernia operation, giving Dickson Etuhu his third start of the season in midfield.
Martin Jol was also forced to make some drastic changes in defence, with the absence of the injured Zdenek Grygera and John Arne Riise, who flew home after his wife gave birth on Friday night.
The first real chance of the match fell to the visitors at the Stadium of Light during the first few minutes, with wantaway striker Moussa Dembele showing great skill on the edge of the area to beat two Sunderland defenders before striking straight at Black Cats' reserve keeper Keiren Westwood.
The hosts began to dominate possession in the midfield and repeatedly looked to threaten the Cottagers' defence.
Jack Colback beat the offside trap after a neat pass by Nicklas Bendtner, but the young midfielder failed to find Stephane Sessegnon at the far post, with Mark Schwarzer gathering his attempted pass.
Sunderland then hit the crossbar for the second time in the opening 16 minutes when Egyptian winger Ahmed Elmohamady whipped a ball in to the far post, and Colback smashed a shot towards goal.
Although the first half was largely dominated by the home side, Martin Jol's men began to pile the pressure on in the run-up to half-time, with two chances in quick succession minutes before the whistle.
The first came from a corner which found Bobby Zamora's head, before a second corner moments later saw Etuhu rise above the Sunderland defence and direct a powerful header towards goal, only for tireless midfielder Lee Cattermole to clear off the line.
Bruce's men showed resilience to hold off the visitors, and eventually managed to fashion some chances of their own, the best of which fell to Sessegnon.
After Schwarzer flapped at a corner, the 26-year-old found the ball at his feet, but with his back to goal he could only manage to fire the ball wide.
Fulham had a chance to snatch a win after a Sunderland corner led to a two-on-one counter-attack in favour of the away side. Dembele squared the ball for Clint Dempsey who wastefully fired what was arguably the best chance of the match wide of Westwood's goal.
As the final whistle was blown, the players left the field to a chorus of boos from the home fans. The result keeps the Black Cats and the Cottagers 15th and 16th respectively on the Premier League table.