The giants will go head to head for the fifth time this term, having met twice in the Premiership and home and away in the Champions League group stage.

In the other semi-final, West Ham will meet the winners of the replay between Middlesbrough and Charlton.

Chelsea's game with Liverpool will be staged at Old Trafford on Saturday 22 April, with the other semi-final to be held at Villa Park on Sunday 23 April.

The Old Trafford semi-final will kick off at 1715 GMT and will be screened by the BBC, with the other game scheduled to begin at 1600 GMT the following day.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez said he is expecting a tough tie against the Premiership champions.

He told the club's website: "It will be a difficult game for both teams.

"We know each other so well and when you play a cup tie you know it will always be a difficult tie. We shall see what happens.

Whoever wins between Liverpool and Chelsea will definitely win the cup From LJ Have your say on 606

"They are a very good side but so are we. We have a lot of confidence and we know it's a game we can win."

The BBC's FA Cup quarter-final viewing figures, meanwhile, were up by more than a third, with a 35% increase on the equivalent televised fixtures last season.

West Ham's win at Manchester City on BBC One on Monday drew a peak of 6.4m, while Chelsea's game against Newcastle on Wednesday drew 6.7m.

The draw between Charlton and Middlesbrough on Thursday on BBC Two was watched by a peak audience of 4.7m.

Semi-final draw:

Chelsea v Liverpool to be played at Old Trafford on Saturday 22 April
Charlton Athletic or Middlesbrough v West Ham to be played at Villa Park on Sunday 23 April.