Wigan increased their recent impressive record to six wins in their last seven games and at the present time there is little sign of the bubble bursting.
They took full advantage of Villa obvious shortcomings which are now embarrassingly exposed by all their opposition.
Villa's lack of confidence was exposed when Aaron Hughes turned the ball into his own net in the 31st minute.
The Northern Ireland skipper had a frustrating game and at times struggled against the pace of Wigan's strikeforce of Jason Roberts and Henri Camara. As a result Villa were always chasing a game which was never within their grasp.
They ultimately paid the penalty when Alan Mahon, who is at long last beginning to establish himself in the Wigan side, gave them a painful lesson in finishing when he scored with a powerful 25-yard drive seven minutes from time.
Wigan, a team put together by manager Paul Jewell on a shoe-string budget, played with cool assurance of a side that had taken 16 points from their previous six games.
On their first ever league visit to Villa Park the North West club were certainly not over-awed by their more illustrious opposition and more than matched Villa in the early stages.
They took few risks in the circumstances with Arjan De Zeeuw and Graham Kavanagh their key-pins in defence. But their confidence was given a boost by their ability to contain a Villa side that was again very frustrating.
Goalkeeper John Filan also took the plaudits for his ability to shut out Villa's attack with a string of fine saves in the first half when strikers Kevin Phillips and Luke Moore were generally off the pace.
Villa certainly did little to show they had gained much from their win over local rivals, Birmingham City, last Sunday, while Wigan, who face a sequence of five daunting games against Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester United in the next two months, continued to grow in confidence.
Villa are currently not of the same quality as either of these five clubs and this was highlighted by their inability to combat Wigan's somewhat cheeky play that enabled them to take a first-half lead.
Wigan are a side who believe in breaking quickly but Camara and Roberts made a somewhat quiet start against Olof Mellberg and Liam Ridgewell.
Filan distinguished himself for the first time when he saved from the onrushing Phillips and this continued to be the feature of the game as Villa struggled to dominate their opposition.
The Midlands club were caught open in the 31st minute when Camara produced a fast low cross from the right. Hughes, who had previously been suspect in similar circumstances, found himself under pressure from Roberts and turned the ball past Thomas Sorensen into his own net for the opening goal.
Villa's lack of finishing power was highlighted by Moore's inability to equalise after he was allowed to slip through unchecked after De Zeeuw had slipped.
But with only Filan to beat the young striker, later replaced by the equally out of form Juan Pablo Angel, lofted the ball over the bar.
Filan maintained his five-star performance with another brilliant save when Eirik Bakke's shot was deflected off Kavanagh. Filan was again on had to thwart Gareth Barry's powerful drive early in the second half.
Wigan themselves should have put the game out Villa's reach with two golden opportunities which were both carelessly wasted.
Roberts turned both Ridgewell and Jlloyd Samuel only to be foiled as Samuel quickly recovered to halt the Wigan striker in his tracks as he was about to shoot.
Camara collected an impressive cross from Mahon but instead of putting his pass into the path of the onrushing Kavanagh attempted to fire past Sorensen.
Villa's keeper blocked the shot and even saved Camara's second attempt to keep his side in the game.
But it was no avail. Although Steven Davis produced another outstanding performance for Villa the Midlands club were generally off the pace.
The lack of finishing power was always evident. Angel, who is still seeking his first goal of the season, was again a major failure as Villa left their fans frustrated by their lack of success at home.
Their disappointment was compounded seven minutes from time when Wigan finally sealed Villa's fate with a fine raking movement which was finished off with the confidence which is blatantly lacking in the Birmingham side.
Substitute Gary Teale sent Jimmy Bullard clear and he in turn put Mahon in possession to score with a blistering 25-yard shot which gave the luckless Sorsensen little chance of saving.
Man of the Match: John Filan - Repeatedly foiled Aston Villa with a string of impressive saves and was the key to Wigan's latest success.