Fulham Manager Chris Coleman has challenged his players to break their away duck and continue their march up the Barclays Premiership with a win against West Ham.

The Cottagers are the only Premiership side not to have tasted victory on the road this season and Coleman is desperate to end that wretched run, starting at Upton Park on Monday night.

"We need to break our duck away from home. We need to pick up one or two wins because at the moment we're relying on our home form, which is obviously very, very good," he said.

Success would put Fulham on level points with their London rivals but Coleman knows his side will have to defend resolutely if they are to nullify West Ham's attacking gameplan.

"It won't be easy because West Ham are a good team with good, young players. Alan Pardew has built a good team," he said.

"I'm not surprised at West Ham's success looking at the players they've got. They are very fit and play good football. They're built to attack."

Chelsea left-back Wayne Bridge will make his Fulham debut after signing on loan until the end of the season, joining fellow January arrivals Simon Elliott and Antti Niemi in the team.

The Cottagers appear to be in a strong position, with several players winning their battles against injury and Senegal midfielder Papa Bouba Diop set to return from African Nations Cup duty.

And with last weekend's 1-0 victory over Newcastle giving them back-to-back Premiership wins for the first time in 21 matches, Coleman is looking to the future with optimism.

"We've got one or two players coming back so the squad's looking a lot healthier than it was," he said.

"We've got 16 games left - eight home and eight away. We can have a good finish. It's still very tight and we mustn't get carried away, but we've got to look forward."

A top-10 finish would herald a successful third term in football management for Coleman

West Ham boss Alan Pardew believes London derbies are perfect for his side even though they have won just one this season.

The Hammers will put his theory to the test at Upton Park on Monday night against Fulham, the one local rival they have managed to get the better of so far.

Pardew was convinced the added tension generated by a derby day suited his squad more than Chelsea and Arsenal's expensively-assembled line-ups.

He said: "When I was at Reading we had Swindon and Oxford in our division at the time. We were trying to win things and those games became more difficult.

"So for Arsenal and Chelsea it is probably the same. For us, they are good games and with the way we play they suit us. There is tension in the game and it is played at a high tempo. We play better like that."

West Ham have lost to Chelsea and Charlton and shared draws with Arsenal and Tottenham since winning the first derby of the season at Craven Cottage.

Since then The Hammers have been involved in an unusual team-bonding session Pardew lined up for his players - clay pigeon shooting.

Pardew said: "Once you take them out of the training ground you see a different side to someone. If you have a night out with me, you will see a different me - you might not like me. "A company I know suggested it and said it was a fantastic thing to do and I was looking for something a bit different."

Dean Ashton, from Norwich City, is reported to have agreed personal terms with West Ham and could sign after undergoing a medical at Upton Park in time to be unveiled before the Fulham game.

Ashton had been pursued with a view to succeeding Teddy Sheringham, who turns 40 in April, as the focal point of the front-line, with Pardew making it clear he wanted more aerial presence in the box. That would leave Marlon Harewood and Bobby Zamora fighting it out to partner the new man, with the latter having just signed an extended contract.

Zamora is in good form at the moment with five goals in his last nine games, including the first in a 2-1 win at Aston Villa last week, and the former Spurs man was keen to add to that tally against Fulham.