Netherlands come into this match at the back of a disappointing outing against USA which ended in the Dutch suffering a 4-3 defeat. The hosts were destined for victory and looked impressive with Huntelaar and Man United recruit Memphis Depay getting on the score sheet.
The score was 3-2 in the favor of the hosts until USA launched a late comeback courtesy of goals from Williams and Wood who scored in the space of two minutes to give their side a victory.
Netherlands manager Guus Hiddink questioned the character of his players and insisted that his team lacked the killer instincts when they faced USA.
"If you look at the first half, we did create some chances, but even at 0-0 they went clean through on Jasper Cillessen," he said.
"You know you have to slow the game down in the last couple of minutes. We had to make it 4-2 but instead we gave away the match.
"We need to kill a match and that's what we didn't do. Especially with these temperatures it's important to do that. I don't want to talk about individuals, but we did give away chances too easily.
"We are going to improve with the six defenders we have now, but they seem to be in trouble if the pace increases."
Hiddink who was appointed as a replacement for Van Gaal after the World Cup has endured a frustrating tenure as the head coach of the national side. Netherlands are currently third in Group A in the qualification campaign and Hiddink has highlighted the importance of the match against Latvia, stressing on the fact that his players must produce a better showing than they did against USA.
"I think that everybody know how important the Latvia match is," Hiddink added. "They all do. I am worried about how we finish a game, our fitness is fine. The Americans always fight until the end, some of us are not used to that.
"They made us run, but we had to make them run instead. We are working on that. I hope this is a lesson."
Latvia on the other hand will be hoping to put a much improved performance after being at the receiving end of a 6-0 mauling when the two sides met in November last year. Netherlands will be absolute favorites for the tie but the hosts will be hopeful to create an upset especially after spirited performances against Czech Republic and Turkey in the qualification campaign.
Marians Pahars' men however have not tasted victory in any of their last five matches with their last two fixtures yielding a 1-1 result. They were against Ukraine in their last encounter a match in which a goal in injury time from Maksimenko was enough to salvage a draw for Latvia.
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