Milos Zeman, who has regularly criticised Brussels migration policy, will seek to hold his current post as the country’s president when members of the public cast their vote on January 26 and 27.
But Jiri Drahos, an academic who promises a better relationship with the EU through closer integration, could dethrone Mr Zeman as polls reveal the result could end on a knife-edge.
The poll by Kantar TNS for Czech Television shows voters leaning 45.5 per cent for Mr Zeman and 45 per cent for Mr Drahos.
In the poll, which had 1,522 respondents, some 9.5 per cent were undecided or not answering, with Mr Drahos also having a slightly high number of “certain” voters than Mr Zeman.
Mr Zeman, who has pursued closer relations with Russia and China and sniping at the press, won the first election round with 38.6 per cent of the vote.
Mr Drahos, a former head of the Academy of Sciences, finished second on 26.6 per cent with support from liberal voters attracted by his policies favouring further EU integration.
The vote is considered as a referendum on Mr Zeman, who has been in office since 2013 and is the third president of the Czech Republic.
Most candidates who lost in the first round of voting put their weight being Mr Drahos, which has helped narrow the gap between the rivals.
While Czech presidents have limited executive power in the country of 10.6 million they do appoint prime ministers and central bankers, represent the country abroad and can have a big influence in public opinion.
The election can impact who leads the next government. Prime Minister Andrej Babis is rushing to form a new cabinet before a new presidential term starts on March 8.
Meanwhile, police are alleging that billionaire Mr Babis, 63, the country’s second-richest person, hid ownership of one of his companies a decade ago to win a two million euro subsidy, mostly from European Union funds, meant for small businesses.
Mr Babis denied wrongdoing – but lawmakers stripped him of his Parliamentary immunity from prosecution on Friday.
Mr Zeman has backed Mr Babis – who in turn has endorsed Mr Zeman in the election – although Mr Drahos has advised Mr Babis to step aside to help a new administration form and has said it would be unacceptable to have a prime minister who faces police charges.