President Joe Biden and his rival Donald Trump are approaching the first presidential debate in Atlanta on even footing, with the pair tied in a new national poll just days before the encounter.

After months of sagging support, Biden and the former president are tied at 49 percent in a new NPR/PBS News/Marist in advance of the debate, to be carried on CNN in prime time next week.

Just 2 percent of registered voters say they are undecided.

Trump holds a slight edge, 50 to 49 percent, among those who say they definitely plan to vote in November, according to the poll.

Biden finds himself in an improved position in recent weeks, although he has not received a major boost from Trump’s conviction on felony charges of falsifying business records following his Manhattan trial.

But he has improved his standing among Independent voters, who are the group indicating they are most susceptible to being influenced by the jury’s guilty verdict.

Biden leads Independents in the poll 50 to 48 percent. That comes after trailing Trump 54-42 in an earlier survey.