Sheffield Wednesday made it two wins in a row over the Christmas period to climb into the top ten in the Championship at the turn of the year.
Atdhe Nuhiu headed home the winning goal from a Jeremy Helan cross with just under 15 minutes remaining and the Owls were good value for the win, giving them a double over the Latics this season.
Despite a win in their last game Stuart Gray chose to freshen up the Owls side with Loovens, Maghoma and Nuhiu returning to the starting line-up at the expense of Dielna, Drenthe and May.
The home side had started the game well but struggled to break down Wednesday's solid shape and failed to test Westwood in the first half. Having kept their opponents at bay in the early stages the visitors got on top as the half wore on and had chances through Nuhiu, Lees and McGugan.
Wigan looked to regain the initiative after the break with McClean forcing Westwood into a fine save and the winger then converted Watson's cross but he did so from an offside position.
The home side threw on McManaman to try and turn the game in their favour but in a few minutes the substitute had the opposite effect. He lunged in on Owls sub Dielna and saw a straight red as a result.
Wednesday took control from that point on and moments after a diving save from Carson had denied Nuhiu the Owls striker made no mistake with a close range header. Maguire had the opportunity to make the points save but fired wide and the home side almost found a late equalizer when Ramis sent a glancing header on to the inside of the post from a Maloney cross.
The Owls have now kept more clean sheets than any team in the Championship and no team outside the top six has picked up more away points so far.