diff --git a/core/src/test/scala/unit/kafka/server/MetadataRequestTest.scala b/core/src/test/scala/unit/kafka/server/MetadataRequestTest.scala
index 599ae179ff63..ecb3f7e3af8f 100644
--- a/core/src/test/scala/unit/kafka/server/MetadataRequestTest.scala
+++ b/core/src/test/scala/unit/kafka/server/MetadataRequestTest.scala
@@ -274,7 +274,7 @@ class MetadataRequestTest extends BaseRequestTest {
       val serverId = server.dataPlaneRequestProcessor.brokerId
       val leaderId = partitionMetadata.leaderId
       val replicaIds = partitionMetadata.replicaIds.asScala
-      serverId != leaderId && replicaIds.contains(serverId)
+      leaderId.isPresent && leaderId.get() != serverId && replicaIds.contains(serverId)
     }.get
     downNode.shutdown()