Figure on upcoming group of players (5)
I believe the answer is:
nonet
'group of players' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'figure on upcoming' is the wordplay.
'figure' becomes 'ten' (ten is a number or figure).
'upcoming' says the letters should be written backwards (in a down clue coming up is backwards).
'ten'+'on'='tenon'
'tenon' in reverse letter order is 'NONET'.
(Other definitions for nonet that I've seen before include "Musical composition -- tonne (anag)" , "piece to be performed" , "group composition" , "Band's" , "Composition for nine players" .)