diff --git a/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/0020-verify-settings.yml b/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/0020-verify-settings.yml
index 5e5e675af..8c3cec92e 100644
--- a/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/0020-verify-settings.yml
+++ b/roles/kubernetes/preinstall/tasks/0020-verify-settings.yml
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@
 # NOTICE: the check blatantly ignores the inet6-case
 - name: Guarantee that enough network address space is available for all pods
   assert:
-    that: "{{ kubelet_max_pods <= (2 ** (32 - kube_network_node_prefix)) - 2 }}"
+    that: "{{ kubelet_max_pods | default(110) <= (2 ** (32 - kube_network_node_prefix)) - 2 }}"
     msg: "Do not schedule more pods on a node than inet addresses are available."
   ignore_errors: "{{ ignore_assert_errors }}"
   when: