Nottingham Forest moved back out of the Premier League's bottom three with a goalless home draw against mid-table Fulham.

Vitor Pereira's side had dropped into the relegation zone as a result of West Ham's draw against Manchester City on Saturday.

But Forest's point means they and the Hammers both have 29 points, with West Ham's inferior goal difference putting them back below the safety line.

Two offside decisions against half-time substitute Dan Ndoye proved costly for the hosts, who are still yet to register a league win under Pereira.

The Switzerland winger was bundled over in the penalty area by Calvin Bassey just after his introduction at the break, and although referee Sam Barrott awarded a spot-kick, his assistant then flagged for offside.

Soon afterwards, Ndoye collected Neco Williams' pass and slotted neatly beyond Fulham keeper Bernd Leno - but he was again adjudged to be offside, this time via the video assistant referee (VAR).

The Cottagers had created the best chance of a quiet first period, with centre-back Bassey heading straight at Matz Sels from six yards.

As the game sparked into life after the break and both sides had opportunities, Forest looked more likely winners.

Full-back Ola Aina was involved at both ends - first striking the crossbar against his former club with a powerful volley from the edge of the box, and then heading a goalbound Rodrigo Muniz effort over his own bar.

Taiwo Awoniyi wasted another glorious chance for the hosts late on, sliding his shot wide after being put through by Elliot Anderson.

Marco Silva's side are 11th in a congested middle portion of the table, three points behind seventh-placed Brentford, who host bottom club Wolves on Monday.

Before this round of Premier League fixtures, Forest were ranked in the top 10 for attempts on target, but only Wolves (22) had scored fewer than their tally of 28.

Despite an improved second-half display, they drew a blank for the 14th time in 30 league outings this term.

They had been limited to long-range efforts by Fulham in the first half, with Leno comfortably dealing with shots from outside the box by Morgan Gibbs-White and Nicolas Dominguez.

The introductions of Ndoye and Omari Hutchinson at half-time had the desired positive impact and, on the balance of play after the break, probably should have taken all three points.

The two offside decisions against Ndoye were very close calls, while Aina's superb attempt was only a couple of inches off target.

Forest are now seven games without a Premier League win and their next league opponents are Tottenham on 22 March, in what could prove to be a critical game for both sides' survival hopes.

Last weekend's FA Cup fifth-round defeat by Championship club Southampton left Fulham with one solitary objective this season - to secure qualification for European competition next term.

They are among a group of clubs tightly packed on the fringe of the top six, with Brentford in seventh and 14th-placed Crystal Palace separated by only five points.

If Fulham are to compete on the continent for the first time in more than a decade, they will need to improve their inconsistent results in the closing weeks of the campaign.

The stalemate at the City Ground was their first league draw since 4 January. During the intervening period, they won four and lost five of their nine league fixtures.

They were in the game throughout but struggled to create clear opportunities after Bassey failed to convert his first-half chance.

The visitors remained resolute at the other end, though, to ensure they clinched a point.

Forest visit Midtjylland in the second leg of their Europa League last-16 tie on Thursday, 19 March (17:45 GMT), looking to overturn a 1-0 deficit. They visit Spurs in the Premier League next on Sunday, 22 March (14:15 GMT).

Fulham are next in Premier League action against second-bottom Burnley on Saturday, 21 March (15:00 GMT).