diff --git a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointSlicesCatalogWatch.java b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointSlicesCatalogWatch.java
index 3177302c78..313c8143e1 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointSlicesCatalogWatch.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointSlicesCatalogWatch.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import java.util.Collections;
 import java.util.List;
 import java.util.Map;
+import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.function.Function;
 import java.util.stream.Stream;
 
@@ -73,13 +74,18 @@ else if (!context.properties().namespaces().isEmpty()) {
 			endpointSlices = namespacedEndpointSlices(api, namespace, context.properties().serviceLabels());
 		}
 
+		return generateState(endpointSlices);
+
+	}
+
+	List<EndpointNameAndNamespace> generateState(List<V1EndpointSlice> endpointSlices) {
 		Stream<V1ObjectReference> references = endpointSlices.stream()
 			.map(V1EndpointSlice::getEndpoints)
+			.filter(Objects::nonNull)
 			.flatMap(List::stream)
 			.map(V1Endpoint::getTargetRef);
 
 		return KubernetesCatalogWatchContext.state(references);
-
 	}
 
 	private List<V1EndpointSlice> endpointSlices(DiscoveryV1Api api, Map<String, String> labels) {
diff --git a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointsCatalogWatch.java b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointsCatalogWatch.java
index 1d3fcac51b..efc7c6d856 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointsCatalogWatch.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointsCatalogWatch.java
@@ -72,16 +72,21 @@ else if (!context.properties().namespaces().isEmpty()) {
 			endpoints = namespacedEndpoints(coreV1Api, namespace, context.properties().serviceLabels());
 		}
 
-		/**
-		 * <pre>
-		 *   - An "V1Endpoints" holds a List of V1EndpointSubset.
-		 *   - A single V1EndpointSubset holds a List of V1EndpointAddress
-		 *
-		 *   - (The union of all V1EndpointSubsets is the Set of all V1Endpoints)
-		 *   - Set of V1Endpoints is the cartesian product of :
-		 *     V1EndpointSubset::getAddresses and V1EndpointSubset::getPorts (each is a List)
-		 * </pre>
-		 */
+		return generateState(endpoints);
+
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * <pre>
+	 *   - An "V1Endpoints" holds a List of V1EndpointSubset.
+	 *   - A single V1EndpointSubset holds a List of V1EndpointAddress
+	 *
+	 *   - (The union of all V1EndpointSubsets is the Set of all V1Endpoints)
+	 *   - Set of V1Endpoints is the cartesian product of :
+	 *     V1EndpointSubset::getAddresses and V1EndpointSubset::getPorts (each is a List)
+	 * </pre>
+	 */
+	List<EndpointNameAndNamespace> generateState(List<V1Endpoints> endpoints) {
 		Stream<V1ObjectReference> references = endpoints.stream()
 			.map(V1Endpoints::getSubsets)
 			.filter(Objects::nonNull)
@@ -92,7 +97,6 @@ else if (!context.properties().namespaces().isEmpty()) {
 			.map(V1EndpointAddress::getTargetRef);
 
 		return KubernetesCatalogWatchContext.state(references);
-
 	}
 
 	private List<V1Endpoints> endpoints(CoreV1Api client, Map<String, String> labels) {
diff --git a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointSlicesTests.java b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointSlicesTests.java
index d5ff1a185e..6ba264b194 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointSlicesTests.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointSlicesTests.java
@@ -25,6 +25,8 @@
 import com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.client.WireMock;
 import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.ApiClient;
 import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.JSON;
+import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.models.V1EndpointSlice;
+import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.models.V1EndpointSliceList;
 import io.kubernetes.client.util.ClientBuilder;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterAll;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
@@ -38,6 +40,7 @@
 import static com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.client.WireMock.get;
 import static com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.client.WireMock.stubFor;
 import static com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.core.WireMockConfiguration.options;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
 
 /**
  * Test cases for the Endpoint Slices support
@@ -191,4 +194,36 @@ void testInOneNamespaceWithDoubleLabel() {
 		invokeAndAssert(watch, List.of(new EndpointNameAndNamespace("a", "b")));
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	@Override
+	void testWithoutSubsetsOrEndpoints() {
+
+		// even though we set Endpoints here to null, when
+		// deserializing, it will be an empty List.
+		// I'm going to leave the test here in case the client changes in this regard.
+		// 'generateStateEndpointsWithoutEndpoints' test covers the null Subsets anyway
+		V1EndpointSliceList endpointSlices = endpointSlicesNoEndpoints();
+
+		stubFor(get("/apis/discovery.k8s.io/v1/namespaces/b/endpointslices?labelSelector=key%3Dvalue%2Ckey1%3Dvalue1")
+			.willReturn(aResponse().withStatus(200).withBody(new JSON().serialize(endpointSlices))));
+		// otherwise the stub might fail
+		LinkedHashMap<String, String> map = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+		map.put("key", "value");
+		map.put("key1", "value1");
+		KubernetesCatalogWatch watch = createWatcherInSpecificNamespaceWithLabels("b", map, null, apiClient,
+				USE_ENDPOINT_SLICES);
+
+		invokeAndAssert(watch, List.of());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void generateStateEndpointsWithoutEndpoints() {
+
+		KubernetesEndpointSlicesCatalogWatch catalogWatch = new KubernetesEndpointSlicesCatalogWatch();
+		List<V1EndpointSlice> endpointSlicesNoEndpoints = endpointSlicesNoEndpoints().getItems();
+
+		// even if Endpoints are missing, we do not fail
+		assertThat(catalogWatch.generateState(endpointSlicesNoEndpoints)).isEmpty();
+	}
+
 }
diff --git a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointsTests.java b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointsTests.java
index a0a2e93bae..9df4a001d1 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointsTests.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointsTests.java
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 import com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.client.WireMock;
 import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.JSON;
 import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.apis.CoreV1Api;
+import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.models.V1Endpoints;
 import io.kubernetes.client.util.ClientBuilder;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterAll;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@
 import static com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.client.WireMock.get;
 import static com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.client.WireMock.stubFor;
 import static com.github.tomakehurst.wiremock.core.WireMockConfiguration.options;
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
 
 /**
  * Test cases for the Endpoints support
@@ -191,4 +193,30 @@ void testInOneNamespaceWithDoubleLabel() {
 		invokeAndAssert(watch, List.of(new EndpointNameAndNamespace("a", "b")));
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	@Override
+	void testWithoutSubsetsOrEndpoints() {
+		stubFor(get("/api/v1/namespaces/b/endpoints?labelSelector=key%3Dvalue%2Ckey1%3Dvalue1")
+			.willReturn(aResponse().withStatus(200).withBody(new JSON().serialize(endpointsNoSubsets()))));
+		// otherwise the stub might fail
+		LinkedHashMap<String, String> map = new LinkedHashMap<>();
+		map.put("key", "value");
+		map.put("key1", "value1");
+		KubernetesCatalogWatch watch = createWatcherInSpecificNamespaceWithLabels("b", map, coreV1Api, null,
+				USE_ENDPOINT_SLICES);
+
+		invokeAndAssert(watch, List.of());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void generateStateEndpointsWithoutSubsets() {
+
+		KubernetesEndpointsCatalogWatch catalogWatch = new KubernetesEndpointsCatalogWatch();
+		List<V1Endpoints> endpoints = endpointsNoSubsets().getItems();
+
+		// we do not fail, even if Subsets are not present
+		List<EndpointNameAndNamespace> result = catalogWatch.generateState(endpoints);
+		assertThat(result).isEmpty();
+	}
+
 }
diff --git a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointsAndEndpointSlicesTests.java b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointsAndEndpointSlicesTests.java
index 0fa40fd936..ba09c0e133 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointsAndEndpointSlicesTests.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-client-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/client/discovery/catalog/KubernetesEndpointsAndEndpointSlicesTests.java
@@ -22,6 +22,7 @@
 
 import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.ApiClient;
 import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.apis.CoreV1Api;
+import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.models.V1Endpoint;
 import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.models.V1EndpointAddressBuilder;
 import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.models.V1EndpointBuilder;
 import io.kubernetes.client.openapi.models.V1EndpointSliceBuilder;
@@ -104,6 +105,8 @@ abstract class KubernetesEndpointsAndEndpointSlicesTests {
 	 */
 	abstract void testInOneNamespaceWithDoubleLabel();
 
+	abstract void testWithoutSubsetsOrEndpoints();
+
 	KubernetesCatalogWatch createWatcherInAllNamespacesWithLabels(Map<String, String> labels, Set<String> namespaces,
 			CoreV1Api coreV1Api, ApiClient apiClient, boolean endpointSlices) {
 
@@ -174,6 +177,12 @@ V1EndpointsList endpoints(String name, String namespace) {
 			.build();
 	}
 
+	V1EndpointsList endpointsNoSubsets() {
+		return new V1EndpointsListBuilder().addToItems(new V1EndpointsBuilder().build())
+			.withKind("EndpointsList")
+			.build();
+	}
+
 	V1EndpointSliceList endpointSlices(String name, String namespace) {
 		return new V1EndpointSliceListBuilder()
 			.addToItems(new V1EndpointSliceBuilder().addToEndpoints(new V1EndpointBuilder()
@@ -182,6 +191,13 @@ V1EndpointSliceList endpointSlices(String name, String namespace) {
 			.build();
 	}
 
+	V1EndpointSliceList endpointSlicesNoEndpoints() {
+		List<V1Endpoint> endpoints = null;
+		return new V1EndpointSliceListBuilder().withKind("V1EndpointSliceList")
+			.addToItems(new V1EndpointSliceBuilder().withEndpoints(endpoints).build())
+			.build();
+	}
+
 	static void invokeAndAssert(KubernetesCatalogWatch watch, List<EndpointNameAndNamespace> state) {
 		watch.catalogServicesWatch();
 
diff --git a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointSliceV1CatalogWatch.java b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointSliceV1CatalogWatch.java
index 22f4d88f05..5936b807c0 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointSliceV1CatalogWatch.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointSliceV1CatalogWatch.java
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 
 import java.util.ArrayList;
 import java.util.List;
+import java.util.Objects;
 import java.util.function.Function;
 import java.util.stream.Stream;
 
@@ -72,13 +73,21 @@ else if (!context.properties().namespaces().isEmpty()) {
 			endpointSlices = endpointSlices(context, namespace, client);
 		}
 
+		return generateState(endpointSlices);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * This one is visible for testing, especially since fabric8 mock client will save
+	 * null subsets as empty lists, thus blocking some unit test.
+	 */
+	List<EndpointNameAndNamespace> generateState(List<EndpointSlice> endpointSlices) {
 		Stream<ObjectReference> references = endpointSlices.stream()
 			.map(EndpointSlice::getEndpoints)
+			.filter(Objects::nonNull)
 			.flatMap(List::stream)
 			.map(Endpoint::getTargetRef);
 
 		return Fabric8CatalogWatchContext.state(references);
-
 	}
 
 	private List<EndpointSlice> endpointSlices(Fabric8CatalogWatchContext context, String namespace,
diff --git a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointsCatalogWatch.java b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointsCatalogWatch.java
index 2e7791c2cf..c50b0127f1 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointsCatalogWatch.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointsCatalogWatch.java
@@ -44,16 +44,23 @@ public List<EndpointNameAndNamespace> apply(Fabric8CatalogWatchContext context)
 		List<Endpoints> endpoints = endpoints(context.properties(), context.kubernetesClient(),
 				context.namespaceProvider(), "catalog-watcher", null, ALWAYS_TRUE);
 
-		/**
-		 * <pre>
-		 *   - An "Endpoints" holds a List of EndpointSubset.
-		 *   - A single EndpointSubset holds a List of EndpointAddress
-		 *
-		 *   - (The union of all EndpointSubsets is the Set of all Endpoints)
-		 *   - Set of Endpoints is the cartesian product of :
-		 *     EndpointSubset::getAddresses and EndpointSubset::getPorts (each is a List)
-		 * </pre>
-		 */
+		return generateState(endpoints);
+	}
+
+	/**
+	 * This one is visible for testing, especially since fabric8 mock client will save
+	 * null subsets as empty lists, thus blocking some unit test.
+	 *
+	 * <pre>
+	 *   - An "Endpoints" holds a List of EndpointSubset.
+	 *   - A single EndpointSubset holds a List of EndpointAddress
+	 *
+	 *   - (The union of all EndpointSubsets is the Set of all Endpoints)
+	 *   - Set of Endpoints is the cartesian product of :
+	 *     EndpointSubset::getAddresses and EndpointSubset::getPorts (each is a List)
+	 * </pre>
+	 */
+	List<EndpointNameAndNamespace> generateState(List<Endpoints> endpoints) {
 		Stream<ObjectReference> references = endpoints.stream()
 			.map(Endpoints::getSubsets)
 			.filter(Objects::nonNull)
diff --git a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointsAndEndpointSlicesTests.java b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointsAndEndpointSlicesTests.java
index 4f4a55144f..3bd1b8c990 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointsAndEndpointSlicesTests.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8EndpointsAndEndpointSlicesTests.java
@@ -235,6 +235,16 @@ void afterEach() {
 	 */
 	abstract void testTwoNamespacesOutOfThree();
 
+	/**
+	 * <pre>
+	 *      - in the old API (plain Endpoints), tests that subsets are missing
+	 *        and we do not fail.
+	 *      - in the new API (EndpointSlices), tests that Endpoints are missing
+	 *        and we do not fail.
+	 * </pre>
+	 */
+	abstract void testWithoutSubsetsOrEndpoints();
+
 	KubernetesCatalogWatch createWatcherInAllNamespacesWithLabels(Map<String, String> labels, Set<String> namespaces,
 			boolean endpointSlices) {
 
@@ -309,6 +319,21 @@ void endpoints(String namespace, Map<String, String> labels, String podName) {
 		mockClient().endpoints().inNamespace(namespace).resource(endpoints).create();
 	}
 
+	Endpoints endpointsWithoutSubsets(String namespace, Map<String, String> labels, String podName) {
+
+		// though we set it to null here, the mock client when creating it
+		// will set it to an empty list. I will keep it like this, may be client changes
+		// in the future and we have the case still covered by a test
+		List<EndpointSubset> endpointSubsets = null;
+
+		Endpoints endpoints = new EndpointsBuilder()
+			.withMetadata(new ObjectMetaBuilder().withLabels(labels).withName("endpoints-" + podName).build())
+			.withSubsets(endpointSubsets)
+			.build();
+		mockClient().endpoints().inNamespace(namespace).resource(endpoints).create();
+		return endpoints;
+	}
+
 	void service(String namespace, Map<String, String> labels, String podName) {
 
 		Service service = new ServiceBuilder()
@@ -335,6 +360,23 @@ static void endpointSlice(String namespace, Map<String, String> labels, String p
 
 	}
 
+	static EndpointSlice endpointSliceWithoutEndpoints(String namespace, Map<String, String> labels, String podName) {
+
+		List<Endpoint> endpoints = null;
+
+		EndpointSlice slice = new EndpointSliceBuilder()
+			.withMetadata(new ObjectMetaBuilder().withNamespace(namespace)
+				.withName("slice-" + podName)
+				.withLabels(labels)
+				.build())
+			.withEndpoints(endpoints)
+			.build();
+
+		mockClient().discovery().v1().endpointSlices().inNamespace(namespace).resource(slice).create();
+		return slice;
+
+	}
+
 	static void invokeAndAssert(KubernetesCatalogWatch watch, List<EndpointNameAndNamespace> state) {
 		watch.catalogServicesWatch();
 
diff --git a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointSlicesTests.java b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointSlicesTests.java
index 62b213fbb6..4f85c33f75 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointSlicesTests.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointSlicesTests.java
@@ -20,12 +20,15 @@
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 
+import io.fabric8.kubernetes.api.model.discovery.v1.EndpointSlice;
 import io.fabric8.kubernetes.client.KubernetesClient;
 import io.fabric8.kubernetes.client.server.mock.EnableKubernetesMockClient;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.Test;
 
 import org.springframework.cloud.kubernetes.commons.discovery.EndpointNameAndNamespace;
 
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
 /**
  * Some tests that use the fabric8 mock client, using EndpointSlices
  *
@@ -178,6 +181,29 @@ void testTwoNamespacesOutOfThree() {
 						new EndpointNameAndNamespace("podF", "namespaceB")));
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	@Override
+	void testWithoutSubsetsOrEndpoints() {
+		KubernetesCatalogWatch watch = createWatcherInSpecificNamespacesWithLabels(Set.of("namespaceA"),
+				Map.of("color", "blue"), ENDPOINT_SLICES);
+
+		endpointSliceWithoutEndpoints("namespaceA", Map.of("color", "blue"), "podA");
+
+		// we do not fail here, even if Endpoints are not present.
+		invokeAndAssert(watch, List.of());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void generateStateEndpointsWithoutEndpoints() {
+
+		Fabric8EndpointSliceV1CatalogWatch catalogWatch = new Fabric8EndpointSliceV1CatalogWatch();
+		EndpointSlice sliceNoEndpoints = endpointSliceWithoutEndpoints("namespaceA", Map.of("color", "blue"), "podA");
+
+
+		// even if Endpoints are missing, we do not fail
+		assertThat(catalogWatch.generateState(List.of(sliceNoEndpoints))).isEmpty();
+	}
+
 	// work-around for : https://github.com/fabric8io/kubernetes-client/issues/4649
 	static KubernetesClient endpointSlicesMockClient() {
 		return mockClient;
diff --git a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointsTests.java b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointsTests.java
index 07267b4031..40eb804e28 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointsTests.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-kubernetes-fabric8-discovery/src/test/java/org/springframework/cloud/kubernetes/fabric8/discovery/Fabric8KubernetesCatalogWatchEndpointsTests.java
@@ -20,6 +20,7 @@
 import java.util.Map;
 import java.util.Set;
 
+import io.fabric8.kubernetes.api.model.Endpoints;
 import io.fabric8.kubernetes.client.KubernetesClient;
 import io.fabric8.kubernetes.client.server.mock.EnableKubernetesMockClient;
 import org.junit.jupiter.api.AfterEach;
@@ -27,6 +28,8 @@
 
 import org.springframework.cloud.kubernetes.commons.discovery.EndpointNameAndNamespace;
 
+import static org.assertj.core.api.Assertions.assertThat;
+
 /**
  * Tests for endpoints based catalog watch
  *
@@ -235,6 +238,32 @@ void testTwoNamespacesOutOfThree() {
 						new EndpointNameAndNamespace("podF", "namespaceB")));
 	}
 
+	@Test
+	@Override
+	void testWithoutSubsetsOrEndpoints() {
+		KubernetesCatalogWatch watch = createWatcherInSpecificNamespacesWithLabels(Set.of("namespaceA"),
+				Map.of("color", "blue"), ENDPOINT_SLICES);
+
+		endpointsWithoutSubsets("namespaceA", Map.of("color", "blue"), "podA");
+		// we do not fail here, even if Subsets are not present
+		invokeAndAssert(watch, List.of());
+	}
+
+	@Test
+	void generateStateEndpointsWithoutSubsets() {
+
+		Fabric8EndpointsCatalogWatch catalogWatch = new Fabric8EndpointsCatalogWatch();
+
+		// though we set it to null here, the mock client when creating it
+		// will set it to an empty list. I will keep it like this, may be client changes
+		// in the future and we have the case still covered by a test
+		Endpoints endpoints = endpointsWithoutSubsets("c", Map.of(), "d");
+
+		// we do not fail, even if Subsets are not present
+		List<EndpointNameAndNamespace> result = catalogWatch.generateState(List.of(endpoints));
+		assertThat(result).isEmpty();
+	}
+
 	// work-around for : https://github.com/fabric8io/kubernetes-client/issues/4649
 	static KubernetesClient endpointsMockClient() {
 		return mockClient;