Fernando Torres was handed a start by Rafa Benitez against Wigan but it was substitute Yossi Benayoun, another player sometimes lost in Liverpool's squad rotation, who claimed the only goal in a 1-0 victory at the JJB Stadium.
The Israel midfielder, scorer of a wonderful solo effort at Reading in midweek, claimed an even more memorable effort to settle a tightly-contested meeting in the 75th minute.
Having been introduced as a replacement for Fabio Aurelio ten minutes into the second half, Benayoun was alert when played through by Jermaine Pennant, wrong footing his pedestrian marker Titus Bramble with a clever back-heel, then twisting in the other direction, to put Bramble completely out of the game, before drilling home the winning goal from 15 yards.
Benitez had been interrogated long and hard in the build-up to the game over his decision to start Torres in the midweek League Cup victory while leaving him on the bench for the recent goalless draws with Portsmouth and Birmingham, two results that had done little to enhance Liverpool's status as credible title contenders.
Having been handed a starting job, Torres was quick to try and impress, making a darting run behind Wigan's back line in the 14th minute to collect a pass from his strike partner and see his shot deflected behind.
Then he was involved in Liverpool's best attacking move to date, appearing on the end of John Arne Riise's pass down the left wing and crossing accurately for Pennant who had his effort charged down by a blue and white shirt hurling his body in the ball's path.
Torres was less impressive a few minutes later when Kuyt headed a Pennant cross neatly into his path but the forward's first-time volley was mis-hit and presented Chris Kirkland with an easy save.
But the striker's predatory instincts were on full display either side of the half-hour, even though he failed to score on either occasion.
First, Jason Koumas gifted the ball in midfield to Kuyt whose pass sent the pacy Torres clear of his marker, only Kirkland's leg denying a certain goal although, even then, the rebound struck the Liverpool man and missed the target by inches.
Secondly, following a right-wing cross from Alvaro Arbeloa, Torres connected with an acrobatic and supremely athletic scissors kick which again flew just beyond the target.
Wigan, defeated 4-0 in this fixture last season, might have feared they could be heading for a similar scoreline and, even though their resilience could not be questioned, they were incapable of carving out a meaningful first half chance, save for Josip Skoko's audacious long-range lob that was held by Jose Reina.
At the other end of the field, Liverpool continued to probe and almost found a way past Wigan's spirited massed ranks in the 55th minute when a Torres shot took a wicked deflection that saw the ball spin along the by-line, allowing the quick-witted Gerrard time to keep the ball in play and pass back to Kuyt whose follow-up shot was blocked heroically by Skoko.
It was looking like being another afternoon of high frustration for Liverpool and their title hopes and it threatened to get even worse, in bizarre fashion, on the hour when Paul Scharner took advantage of Jamie Carragher misjudging a Koumas cross.
The Wigan midfielder flicked the ball with his heel over the head of Reina and agonisingly wide of the visitors' goal.
Wigan rallied late but Julius Aghahowa missed their last, and best, chance of an equaliser when he headed down and wide with the goal apparently at his mercy from Koumas' injury-time cross.
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