Cristiano Ronaldo's performance will be decisive when Juventus meet Milan in a huge Serie A clash on Wednesday, says Andrea Pirlo.

The Juve forward has racked up 14 goals in 11 Serie A games this season, netting a double and adding an assist in Sunday's 4-1 thumping of Udinese.

Pirlo will take charge of a match against Milan, with whom he spent a decade as a player and won the Champions League twice, for the first time.

Despite Ronaldo's form, Juve sit 10 points adrift of impressive leaders Milan, albeit the Bianconeri have a game in hand. 

"From the beginning we have tried to exploit Cristiano for his characteristics, clarity and incisiveness in the final third," said Juve boss Pirlo ahead of the San Siro battle.

"Is he decisive? Of course, as he was everywhere. 

"But it is normal to depend on him when you have such a champion in your team."

With the pressure on for a crucial clash, Pirlo feels it is Milan and not defending champions Juve who are currently the team to beat.

"Milan have not lost in a long time, they are first in the standings and they are the team to beat," he said.

"I see a great spirit in Milan, which leads them to win games. They come into the game off the back of excellent results, they fight and run together and they don't want to lose.

"The table always reflects the values of the championship. We play game after game to move up the standings, looking only at ourselves. We will see in April where we will be.

"We will try to impose our game at San Siro, without fear: these are the good matches to be involved in."

He added: "It will be a special evening for me, having experienced many memories with Milan. It was wonderful as a player, I think it will be the same as a coach.

"We know the importance of the match. We will play our game and do our best. It will be very important, but not decisive.

"We will need to be good at making few mistakes and to play well, technically, in order to not give space to Milan's breakaways, which is one of their strengths.

"In the Italian league you can't give up, not even for a second - every match must be faced with the same concentration. I want to see a Juve convinced of their strength, who play the game we have in mind."

Pirlo was asked for an update on available players after Alex Sandro tested positive for coronavirus.

"After Alex Sandro tested positive, we will have the results of the team's tests in the afternoon - until then we wait," he said.

"[Paulo] Dybala is doing pretty well, he is better after his fever so should be available for the game.

"[Alvaro] Morata is recovering and doing physiotherapy, [Giorgio] Chiellini and [Merih] Demiral are doing quite well, while Arthur and [Adrien] Rabiot have both recovered. 

"On Wednesday, we will evaluate who we will have available to bring to Milan. There will be no excuse for the game - the squad is competitive in all sectors. Other teams have had the same problems."

Milan won 4-2 against Juve in July, so they are looking for back-to-back wins against Juventus in Serie A for the first time since 2010, when Pirlo was playing at San Siro under Leonardo.

Juventus defender Alex Sandro has tested positive for coronavirus, the Serie A club announced on Monday.

The Brazil international - who played in Sunday's 4-1 league victory over Udinese in Turin - underwent a test after displaying what Juve described as "mild symptoms". 

Alex Sandro is self-isolating after it was confirmed he has contracted COVID-19, a concern for his club ahead of Wednesday's huge showdown with Milan.

"Juventus announces that following the appearance of some mild symptoms, a check was arranged for the player Alex Sandro, which revealed his positivity to COVID-19," a statement read.

"The player has already been placed in isolation. 

"The club is in contact with the health authorities for the definition of an effective implementation of the protocols needed to allow the training and competition activities of the team."

Alex Sandro featured for 83 minutes against Udinese before being replaced by Gianluca Frabotta, at which stage the hosts were 3-0 up in the game.

The 29-year-old has made seven league appearances under Andrea Pirlo during the 2020-21 campaign, as well as featuring three times in the Champions League group stage.

Juve travel to San Siro to face Milan - the unbeaten Serie A leaders - in midweek, followed by a home game against Sassuolo on Sunday.

Stefano Pioli lauded Milan's "heart, intensity, passion and belief" after they beat Benevento 2-0 to return to the Serie A summit despite playing for nearly an hour with 10 men.

Franck Kessie's penalty gave the visitors a first-half lead at Stadio Ciro Vigorito but Sandro Tonali's dismissal before the break left the Rossoneri up against it.

An inventive finish from Rafael Leao gave Milan a much-needed two-goal cushion early in the second half, with Gianluca Caprari missing a spot-kick at the other end for the wasteful hosts.

The win marked a fine response to Inter's 6-2 thrashing of Crotone earlier on Sunday, which had temporarily dislodged Milan from top spot.

But with his side now leading the way by a point, Pioli was full of praise.

"We showed heart, intensity, passion and belief. It's another very big victory," he told Sky Sport Italia.

"We don't let the results of our opponents put pressure on us. We put pressure on ourselves by demanding the best.

"There were a few errors, but we showed such unity to bring the result home.

"Every result is important to boost the self-belief."

Tonali was shown a red card after a careless lunge on Artur Ionita, with referee Fabrizio Pasqua upgrading his punishment from a yellow after reviewing the incident on the pitch-side monitor.

"I hugged Sandro in the locker room, he was sad about leaving the team down to 10 men," said Pioli.

"The issue with VAR is that things look much worse when slowed down compared to the dynamics of the movement, but Sandro will learn from this."

Next up for Milan is the visit of champions Juventus, though Pioli insists the result will not be pivotal in the title race.

"I think it'll be a great game between two teams in excellent shape," he said.

"I continue to say Juventus, Inter and Napoli are the strongest sides in Serie A, we just have to keep going along our path.

"It's not decisive or the passing on of any baton. Juve won the last nine titles and aren't far behind us at the moment.

"I continue to maintain we can talk about other things when we look at the table in April and if we are still in this position. Our strength has been to take it one game at a time, so we don't want to change that attitude.

"We are missing some important players, Tonali will be suspended, so it's going to be tough against Juventus. Whatever happens, it won't be decisive."

Milan returned to the Serie A summit with a 2-0 win at Benevento as Stefano Pioli's side survived playing with 10 men for almost an hour.

With rivals Inter having gone top after a 6-2 thrashing of Crotone earlier on Sunday, the Rossoneri responded with a gritty victory at Stadio Ciro Vigorito.

Franck Kessie scored a first-half penalty but Sandro Tonali was dismissed before the interval to make it a potentially uncomfortable evening for the visitors.

However, Pioli's men dug deep and Rafael Leao produced a moment of magic four minutes into the second half, with Gianluca Caprari's missed spot-kick robbing Benevento of a golden chance to get back into the match.

With champions Juventus up next, Milan have a chance to send out a signal to the rest of the division that this really could be their year.

Brahim Diaz flashed an early long-range shot over the crossbar as the visitors, unbeaten in 14 on the road, signalled their intent.

Benevento were the architects of their own downfall as Milan took the lead after 15 minutes, a defensive mix-up ending with Alessandro Tuia felling Ante Rebic in the box, with Kessie coolly converting the subsequent spot-kick.

Roberto Insigne came within inches of pulling the hosts level but saw his fine strike crack the inside of Gianluigi Donnarumma's left-hand upright.

Filippo Inzaghi, who played at San Siro for over 10 years, saw his Benevento side handed a boost when Tonali was shown a red card for a careless lunge on Artur Ionita.

The home side tried to force the issue as Gianluca Caprari and Gaetano Letizia both fired off dangerous efforts, but Milan made it to the break with their lead intact. 

Pioli's charges earned the breathing space they so desperately craved courtesy of a fine goal from Leao, who beat Lorenzo Montipo to Rebic's throughball and turned smartly before lifting a pinpoint finish over the stranded goalkeeper.

Benevento's frustrations deepened when Caprari dragged a woeful penalty wide after Rade Krunic had clumsily fouled him in the area, with Milan almost adding a late third when Kessie's low shot hit the inside of the post and rolled across the line.